


Summer Vacation III: Honeymoon in Japan

by geri_chan



Series: Always [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 06:34:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 74,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3164864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geri_chan/pseuds/geri_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aric travels to Japan to meet Takeshi's family; Snape and Lupin also come along to attend Professor Chizuru's wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is not so much a sequel to the latter two stories as it is a companion piece: [The Revenant](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3155435), [Ash's Story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3155600), and this story all begin at around the same time, a couple of days after the ending of [Aftermaths](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3152375), and pretty much run concurrently.
> 
> Originally archived on Ink Stained Fingers on 09/11/05.

"Ah...ah...Aric...oh," Takeshi gasped, bracing himself with his palms against the wet tile of the shower wall.

Aric growled, delighting in the little wordless gasps and moans that escaped his lover's lips as Aric thrust up and into his mate's body. Takeshi looked beautiful with rivulets of water sliding down his smooth, pale skin, and strands of wet black hair plastered to his face, which was flushed with pleasure, his eyes half-closed and his lips parted as he continued to moan. 

"Make those kitten noises for me, 'Keshi," Aric growled softly into his lover's ear. "I love it when you do that."

"Wha...what?" Takeshi gasped, and turned his head slightly to stare in confusion at Aric, his brown eyes glazed with lust.

"Here, let me help you remember," Aric whispered, slowing down the pace of his thrusts despite Takeshi's moan of protest. He began moving with a slow, deliberate tenderness, and gently pressed his lips against the nape of Takeshi's neck; Takeshi sighed softly, a faint tremor running through his body. Aric reached up with one hand to caress Takeshi's chest; the other remained braced on Takeshi's hip. He caught a nipple between thumb and forefinger and gently tweaked it while he simultaneously angled his thrusts to hit just the right spot. 

They had only been lovers for a couple of days, but Aric's inner wolf seemed to instinctively know how best to please his mate. Or maybe it was the fact that they had spent nearly all of yesterday in bed, leisurely exploring each other's bodies. Whatever the reason, Aric smiled with satisfaction when he was rewarded with a soft little mewl of pleasure.

"Yes," Aric whispered. "That's exactly what I mean." Takeshi continued mewling as Aric moved slowly inside him, but the sound enflamed Aric so much that he could not hold to that pace for long, and began pounding into his mate hard and fast as he lost control of himself and let the wolf take over. 

Soon Takeshi was crying out frantically instead of mewling, but Aric didn't mind; that excited him too, to hear his mate lose control. Aric let his hand slide down Takeshi's chest and between his legs, and by the end, Takeshi was shouting something that sounded like, "Moh-toh, moh-toh!" Aric snarled and bit down hard on the back of Takeshi's neck, and he felt his mate come in his hand, and a moment later Aric was howling as he came inside his mate's convulsing body.

When their bodies had finally stopped trembling, they rinsed off, then stepped out of the shower and toweled themselves dry. "You do realize," Takeshi sighed, "that we haven't yet managed to take a shower or a bath without it leading to sex?"

Aric leaned over to nuzzle his mate's neck. "And is there something wrong with that?" he asked with a grin.

"Not in and of itself," Takeshi laughed. "But it might be a problem if we're in a rush, say, to get ready for work. And it means that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to take you to a public bath when we go to Japan."

"Public bath?" Aric asked, puzzled.

"I thought that we might visit an onsen ryokan, an inn with natural hot springs baths," Takeshi replied. "Japan is famous for them. The minerals in the water are very good for your health."

"Let me get this straight," Aric said incredulously. "You want to travel to Japan just to take a bath?"

"Not just any bath," Takeshi said indignantly. "A natural hot springs--"

"Yes, yes, with healthy minerals," Aric laughed. He had never met anyone who enjoyed taking a bath as much as Takeshi seemed to. Not that Aric was complaining, since it gave him plenty of chances to hop into the tub or shower with a naked Takeshi.

"At a comfortable inn with delicious food," Takeshi continued.

"It sounds very nice," Aric said placatingly.

Takeshi tried to glare at him, but his lips twitched upwards slightly. "It is, but unfortunately, it would be a rather large breach of etiquette to have sex inside the baths, particularly the public ones."

"I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable bathing in front of other people, anyway," Aric confessed.

"And here I thought that you Slytherins were so jaded," Takeshi teased. "But really, there's nothing prurient about it. A bath is for--" 

"Relaxation, I know," Aric said, wrapping his arms around his lover. "But to be honest, I don't like the idea of other people looking at your naked body." He growled and nipped at Takeshi's neck, and let his hands roam across Takeshi's body.

"Now, now, none of that, my wolf," Takeshi scolded, playfully slapping Aric's hands away. "We have a busy day ahead of us."

Aric sighed regretfully and released him. "So what's on the agenda today?" he asked as they got dressed.

"We have a meeting with Healer Smethwyck this morning," Takeshi said. "Then we meet Ash at Madam Malkin's, and we're supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight."

Aric repressed another sigh. He was still nervous about "dinner with the in-laws," as he had come to think of it, although technically, he and Takeshi weren't married. Takeshi assured Aric that his parents were eager to meet him, and they had certainly seemed nice enough when he had met them at Lukas's wedding. Still, it was a bit awkward, having dinner with your male lover's parents; such things just weren't done among the purebloods.

But Aric reminded himself that he was no longer a pureblood; he was a werewolf. And he didn't regret it for an instant, not if it meant that he could be with Takeshi. So despite his nervousness, he smiled as he followed Takeshi back to the bedroom and watched him cast a quick charm to dry out his waist-length hair (which would probably have taken hours to dry normally). 

He loved seeing Takeshi's hair loose and unbound, and he loved that Takeshi only unbraided it in private for him. It created a sense of intimacy between them somehow, and the possessive, wolfish part of him didn't want to share the full glory of his mate's beauty with anyone else. Takeshi claimed that the glasses and the braid he wore in public were merely a matter of practicality, but Aric still thought that they were a disguise to make him seem more normal and hide his supernatural beauty.

Takeshi picked up a wide-toothed comb and began running it through his hair. Aric watched him for a couple of minutes, entranced by the sight of his mate combing out his beautiful long hair. But soon his fingers itched to touch that hair himself, and Aric asked eagerly, "Can I do that for you?"

"Of course," Takeshi replied with a smile, and handed him the comb. It was made of dark, lacquered wood and inlaid with a feather design made of mother-of-pearl. It was quite lovely, more of a work of art than a simple tool, but still not as lovely as Takeshi himself. Aric very slowly and carefully ran the comb through Takeshi's hair, not wanting to snag it painfully on any tangles, but he noticed that it slid smoothly through the hair without any resistance.

"Is that a crane thing?" Aric asked curiously. "That your hair doesn't seem to get tangled, I mean. The girls at Durmstrang and Hogwarts were always complaining about what a pain long hair can be, and none of them had hair as long as yours. And I've noticed that your hair never gets wavy or crinkled, even though you braid it all the time."

"It's partly a crane thing, as you put it," Takeshi replied. "Our hair is naturally smooth and straight, and even if one deliberately tries to curl it, the curls will not hold for long before smoothing out again." Takeshi smiled. "Somewhat to the dismay of the more adventurous younglings, who wish to scandalize their parents by trying out hairstyles from Muggle fashion magazines. But even we are not entirely immune to tangled hair, so there is a permanent detangling charm cast upon that comb."

"That's pretty convenient," Aric said. "You ought to market it; you could probably make a fortune." Takeshi just chuckled, and Aric resumed combing his hair in smooth, steady strokes.

"Mmm," Takeshi sighed contentedly. "That feels nice. This must be what a cat feels like when it's being petted."

"I love playing with your hair," Aric whispered into his ear, and he set down the comb for a moment, unable to resist the urge to run his fingers through that length of black silk.

"You're supposed to be combing it, not messing it up," Takeshi protested good-naturedly.

"It's your own fault that you're so irresistible," Aric murmured, nuzzling Takeshi's neck and feeling his mate shiver with pleasure in response. "And by the way, what does 'moh-toh' mean?"

"What?" Takeshi asked, sounding startled.

"You kept saying it in the shower," Aric reminded him.

"Oh," Takeshi said, his face instantly turning scarlet. "'Motto'. It...ah...means 'more' in Japanese."

Aric grinned wickedly. "Theodore said that Lupin's been teaching him and Dylan Japanese. Maybe I ought to ask for a few lessons, too."

Takeshi's blush grew deeper. "I don't think that Remus has been teaching the boys the kinds of things that you're likely to hear in bed, Aric."

"Aha!" Aric teased. "You're all prim and proper on the surface, but you do like to talk dirty when you think I can't understand what you're saying!"

"I'm not 'prim'!" Takeshi protested.

"No," Aric agreed in a husky voice. "You were quite vocal in the shower, and you said a few other things that I didn't quite catch. If you don't want me to go to Lupin, then maybe you should give me some private lessons." He pushed Takeshi's hair aside and nipped at the nape of his neck, on the same spot where he had bitten and claimed his mate earlier in the shower. 

"Ah..." Takeshi gasped, then pulled away from Aric. "No," he said firmly. "Not now. We've got a meeting with Smethwyck in half an hour to discuss the terms of your employment, and it wouldn't do for you to be late before you've even been officially hired. Now finish combing my hair so that we can have some breakfast before we leave."

"How about if we skip breakfast?" Aric asked hopefully.

"We're already running late because somebody got a little frisky in the shower. Now are you going to behave, or am I going to have put an Imperius on you?"

"You're so heartless, 'Keshi!" Aric groaned.

"Absolutely," Takeshi agreed, without the slightest sign of remorse. "Werewolf or not, you're going to have to learn a little control, my love. After all, you don't see Remus jumping on Professor Snape in the halls at Hogwarts, do you?"

Aric shuddered a little at the mental image that conjured up. "No, and I hope that I would be struck blind before that happened." He heaved a sigh of resignation and obediently resumed combing Takeshi's hair. "Although, you know, there were a couple of times when Snape was late to class...but I'd rather not think about it."

"We should have some free time between lunch and dinner, depending on how long it takes to buy Ash's wardrobe," Takeshi said cheerfully. "If you behave yourself, we can have sex in the afternoon."

"Really?" Aric asked eagerly.

"Only if you're a good little wolf," Takeshi teased.

"Woof!" Aric said, and Takeshi giggled and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose. The Slytherin part of him thought he ought to be a little offended by the teasing, but his inner wolf was wagging its tail happily at the thought of sex with its mate. And Takeshi did look so charmingly appealing with that little impish grin and gleam in his eyes. Still, Aric ought to find a way to get back at him later...in bed, perhaps. And a smug, wicked smile slowly spread across his face.

"You scare me when you smile like that, Aric," Takeshi laughed nervously. "You look positively evil."

"Well, I am a Slytherin, after all," Aric purred into his ear, and was pleased when his lover shivered again. "Come on, let's go eat breakfast. Aren't you the one who was in such a rush?"

*** 

The interview with Hippocrates Smethwyck, Takeshi's supervisor at St. Mungo's, went pretty well. Aric's grades at Durmstrang and Hogwarts were quite impressive, the Healer said, and his experience in brewing potions at the charity clinic counted in his favor. "It's quite an accomplishment, for someone as young as you to be able to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, Mr. Dietrich," Smethwyck said.

"Well, it was under Takeshi's supervision," Aric admitted.

"Nevertheless," Smethwyck said, "Mr. Kimura speaks highly of your abilities, and so does Professor Snape."

"He does?!" Aric exclaimed. "Really?"

"Really," the Healer confirmed with a smile. "And as I'm sure you know, the Professor does not hand out praise lightly, so his recommendation is good enough for me. Now, I understand that the two of you will be leaving for Japan soon?"

"Yes, sir," Takeshi replied. "We'll be leaving the week after next, and we'll return in mid-August."

"Then there's no point in starting Mr. Dietrich until you come back," Smethwyck said. "I'd rather not have his training interrupted by a two-month break." So it was agreed that Aric would begin his job after they returned from their vacation, and Smethwyck had him fill out some paperwork and told him what his salary would be. As he would only be a trainee mediwizard, it was a rather modest amount (at least for someone accustomed to living in luxury as Aric was), but Smethwyck assured him that his pay would increase as he gained experience and was assigned more responsibilities. 

If he had been living alone, Aric would have had to live rather frugally, but he could have gotten by, and since he would be sharing rent and expenses with Takeshi, they should do well enough, although he didn't intend to sponge off his lover. Besides, even if he had to live like a pauper, Aric would rather die than go crawling back to his family for a handout. He had learned something after he was turned, that there were things more important than money and power--such as friendship and love. So long as he had his pack and Takeshi, he didn't need anything else to make him happy.

As Aric shook hands with the Healer and prepared to leave, Smethwyck added, "There is just one more thing..."

"Yes, sir?" Aric asked politely.

"What the two of you do on your own time is your own business, of course," the Healer said with a pleasant smile. "But I will expect your...ah...personal relationship not to interfere with your work."

Both Aric and Takeshi blushed. "Of course not, sir!" Takeshi said, sounding a little offended.

"Well then, that's fine," Smethwyck said genially. "Have a good time on your vacation, Mr. Kimura, Mr. Dietrich."

"Hmmph!" Aric fumed as they left the hospital. "Is he singling us out because we're gay?"

"Actually, I don't think so," Takeshi said, still blushing. "If he found our relationship offensive, he wouldn't have hired you. I think it's probably because a nurse and a Healer were caught making out in one of the supply closets last week--very unprofessional behavior. They were both docked a day's pay as punishment. Lucky for them that they weren't in Smethwyck's department; he would have been harder on them. He's a very nice, easygoing man, but he takes his responsibility to his patients seriously. He won't tolerate his employees playing around or slacking off when they're supposed to be working, or doing anything else that detracts from their duties." Takeshi smiled at Aric. "Which means that you'll have to keep your werewolf hormones under control at work, my love."

"Very well, for the sake of duty," Aric sighed regretfully. Too bad; he found the idea of making out with Takeshi in the supply closet to be rather arousing. Then he leaned over and whispered, "But I suppose that it will only make things more intense when we get home from work and are finally able to be alone."

Takeshi's face grew redder and he said in a husky voice, "Control yourself, my wolf." He wiggled his fingers threateningly. "Don't make me cast the 'cooling-off' charm on you."

Aric remembered the time that his wounded body had gotten overly excited while being bathed by Takeshi at the hospital, and how the wandless healing magic that Takeshi used had literally cooled his ardor. "Yes, 'Keshi," he said meekly, pretending to cringe in fear, but he noted, with a secret sense of satisfaction, that it seemed like Takeshi could use a bit of cooling off himself.

So he was in a pretty good mood as they headed to Madam Malkin's to meet Ash, although going clothes shopping with his lover's ex-boyfriend wasn't really high on the list of things that Aric wanted to do. Well, neither Ash nor Takeshi had ever admitted to being lovers (or not really lovers, but "friends who shared the comfort of our bodies to ease our loneliness" was how Takeshi had put it), but Aric was pretty sure that they had been. Maybe it was the way that Ash seemed especially protective of Takeshi, or maybe the wolf instinctively sensed it somehow.

He was sure of it when he caught Ash staring at himself and Takeshi with a pensive, almost wistful look on his face when he thought they weren't looking. Then Katherine scolded Ash for daydreaming, and he snapped out of his pensive mood and started complaining about the need to buy "fancy" clothes for his new Ministry job. 

It was obvious that the former smuggler felt uneasy about both his new wardrobe and his new job, so Takeshi tried to reassure him by saying, "You look very handsome." Aric automatically scowled, unable to repress a surge of jealousy. Takeshi laughed and whispered, "There's no need to be jealous, my wolf."

Aric relaxed and smiled. He knew that he was being silly; he knew that his mate loved him wholeheartedly and was faithful to him now, no matter whom he had been with in the past. It wasn't as if Aric had been a virgin either, after all. He didn't even really hold a grudge against Ash, although they'd initially started off on the wrong foot. He supposed that he couldn't blame Ash for being attracted to someone as kind and beautiful as Takeshi, and whatever his personal feelings, the older werewolf had welcomed Ash as a pack brother and seemed to be treating Takeshi solely as a friend, with no flirting or otherwise inappropriate behavior. Despite his jealousy, deep down Aric knew that Ash would never try to cause trouble between a pack brother and his mate; the pack were absolutely loyal to each other, and they would never betray their brethren.

Which didn't mean that Aric couldn't take a certain amount of vindictive pleasure in Ash's pained expression as Katherine and Takeshi fussed over him, making him try on various outfits as if he were a doll that they were dressing up for their own amusement.

"I think you'd look very fetching in this one..."

"I said no ruffles, Katherine!"

"Oh, come on, I just want to see what you'd look like in it."

"No! I am absolutely not buying it, so there's no point in trying it on!"

"Here, Ash, what about this one? No ruffles, and it's very plain and simply cut."

"It seems rather silly to dress a werewolf in silk, though."

"Nonsense; you're going to have an important Ministry position, so you have to look the part. There, that looks very nice. Perhaps we could tie your hair back with a matching ribbon..."

"I am not wearing a bloody ribbon in my hair! And stop laughing, Aric!"

All kidding aside, Aric was fond of his new pack brother. But it would make him much happier--and his inner wolf would feel much less threatened--if Ash would settle down with a new lover. Aric had to admit that Ash was handsome, in a slightly menacing sort of way. Perhaps with his new position and his new finery, he would also be attracting new suitors. Most human wizards were prejudiced against werewolves, of course, but things were slowly changing.

Most of the Hogwarts students had lost their prejudices, thanks to Lupin and Lukas, and many of them even thought of werewolves as glamorous and exciting. Aric remembered that several of the girls had commented on how handsome Ash was when they saw his picture in the Daily Prophet after he had helped rescue the Peasegood girl from a Graphorn. Ash might find himself more popular than he realized...that thought made Aric smile. Maybe he could help things along by introducing Ash to some of his former classmates. 

He wondered if Ash was strictly gay, or if he liked women, too. The former would complicate things slightly; he knew of several girls who might find his pack brother attractive, but he wasn't sure about the boys. One didn't discuss same-sex attractions openly or casually among strangers, so Aric wasn't sure which of his classmates other than Theo and Blaise might be gay. Ah well, he supposed that matchmaking could wait a bit, until he'd had some chance to do a little discreet research and evaluate the situation...

*** 

After Ash left the shop with his new wardrobe, looking relieved that the experience was finally over, Aric and Takeshi decided to go to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Or rather, Takeshi decided; Aric suggested that they go home for lunch, because he was eager to pick up things where they'd left off this morning.

"I don't feel like cooking," Takeshi said.

"We could get take-out," Aric cajoled.

"I think you have something other than food on your mind, my wolf," Takeshi laughed, then gave his mate a sultry smile. "But I'm hungry, so let's save the rest for dessert, shall we?" 

"I think you're the evil one, 'Keshi," Aric grumbled. "Are you sure that you weren't really a Slytherin at Hogwarts?"

Takeshi just grinned at him. "Now, now, Aric, patience is a virtue."

"I can't help it," Aric said plaintively. "It's my werewolf hormones. You're the one who told me that I have to accept the wolfish part of me, after all. Shouldn't you be a little more sympathetic?"

"I'm helping you to learn how to control your inner wolf," Takeshi said blithely. "Cheer up, Aric. Think of it as something to look forward to. Anticipation will make 'dessert' all the sweeter when it finally comes." He grinned wickedly. "No pun intended."

"I should have known that sweet and innocent act was all just an act," Aric muttered under his breath as they headed to the Leaky Cauldron. "Ravenclaw my arse; you should've been Sorted into Slytherin."

But once they were actually seated in the dining room of the inn, Aric found that his appetite had picked up, and he ordered a steak and baked potato; Takeshi just ordered a sandwich and chips. Aric dug into his meal with gusto; he found that he did indeed crave meat more since becoming a werewolf, and he also found that he now preferred his meat rare, almost bloody, when he used to like it done medium-well.

"I thought you weren't hungry," Takeshi teased as Aric devoured his meal.

"I have to build up my strength for dessert," Aric said, baring his teeth in a wolfish grin, and was pleased when Takeshi blushed.

They were halfway through lunch when a startled voice said, "Takeshi!" Aric looked up to see a handsome young man with dark hair and blue eyes standing beside their table; a pretty blonde girl was hanging on his arm.

"Hello, Paul," Takeshi said politely, but with just a hint of coolness in his voice that immediately made Aric's hackles rise, figuratively speaking. Takeshi was pleasant and friendly to nearly everyone he met, sometimes even when they didn't deserve it, as Aric knew from experience. So if 'Keshi was giving this guy the cold shoulder, there must be a good reason for it. Besides, there was an air of tension between the two of them that caused Aric's inner wolf to silently growl with suspicion and jealousy.

Paul's eyes flickered over towards Aric, and Takeshi said, still in that coolly polite voice, "This is my friend and roommate, Aric Dietrich. Aric, this is an old classmate of mine, Paul Keller. We were housemates together in Ravenclaw."

 _I'll just bet you were,_ Aric thought grimly, but his well-trained pureblood reflexes took over, and he automatically fixed a polite smile on his face and extended his hand. Paul started to reach out to shake it, then froze with his hand outstretched as he exclaimed, "Aric Dietrich! You're the one who got turned into a werewolf!"

"It's not contagious," Takeshi snapped, his voice going from cool to positively icy as Paul's hand hovered in the air uncertainly. "At least not when Aric is in human form."

"Of course," Paul laughed nervously, then very gingerly shook Aric's hand, clasping it for only a second before hastily releasing it. "And...er...you remember Anna?"

"From Hufflepuff," Takeshi said, nodding at the blonde girl politely. "It's nice to see you again, Anna. I don't believe that you know Aric; he attended Durmstrang until this past year."

"Anna Whitby," the girl said, introducing herself, and to her credit, she reached out and shook Aric's hand firmly, without any sign of hesitation. "You might know my little brother Kevin; he goes to Hogwarts, although he's not in your House or year."

"Ah...right, Whitby," Aric said, as he mentally tried to match up the name with a face. "He's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team."

"I've heard a lot about you from my brother," Anna said, smiling mischievously. She didn't seem to pick up on the tension between Takeshi and Paul, or if she did, she chose to ignore it. 

Aric, still operating on reflex, gave her a charming but rueful smile. "I'm sure that none of it was very flattering," he said lightly, well aware that he had antagonized most of the students at Hogwarts during his year there. But he didn't really care what Whitby or his sister thought of him. He was more interested in questioning Takeshi about what exactly Paul was--or had been--to him. Not to mention the fact that he was having trouble controlling the wolf's urge to beat the crap out of Paul if he did indeed turn out to be (as Aric suspected) Takeshi's ex-boyfriend.

Anna just laughed. "Well, perhaps most of it wasn't, but whatever they might have thought of you in the past, it seems that you are a hero now, at least to my brother and his friends, for saving Master Diggory's life. They're all very fond of him, you know."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Aric asked, genuinely curious now. "That your brother's teacher is a werewolf? Wasn't your uncle the lawyer defending Amos Diggory?"

Anna sighed sadly. "It's all very complicated...Uncle Lamont defended Amos Diggory, yes, not just as a client, but as a friend and a fellow Hufflepuff. That is our House code, after all--to be loyal to our housemates. The Hufflepuffs all stood behind Amos...and yet Cyril Diggory was owed our loyalty too, since he turned out to be the true Diggory heir. I don't really know what to think about it all..." She spread out her hands in a helpless gesture. "But Kevin says that Master Diggory is a kind and fair teacher. And he showed honor to Cedric's memory by naming his son after Cedric. So if Kevin trusts him, then I will do the same." Then she giggled. "And he is very handsome!"

"Anna!" Paul exclaimed.

"Oh, you're not jealous, are you, Paul?" Anna laughed.

"Of course not, dear," Paul said, with a slightly strained smile. "Well, I'd love to chat, Takeshi, but we're meeting my parents for lunch in one of the private rooms..."

"And it would be rude to keep them waiting," Takeshi finished with a smile. "Please, go on ahead. I understand."

"Perhaps we can all get together some other time," Anna said brightly. "And then you and Paul can get caught up on things, and talk about old times." Her back was turned to Paul, so she didn't see the look of dismay that spread across his face at her words.

"I haven't been doing much," Takeshi demurred politely. "Just working at St. Mungo's as usual. And I'm afraid that I'll be out of the country for a couple of months, visiting family in Japan."

"Oh, I see," Anna said. "Well, maybe another time, after you get back."

"Perhaps," Takeshi said in a noncommittal tone of voice.

"I hope that you have a good time in Japan," Anna said cheerfully. "It was nice meeting you, Aric." They all murmured polite goodbyes, then Paul hastily led his companion off to one of the private rooms. Takeshi watched them go, a troubled look in his eyes.

"That guy was one of your ex-boyfriends, wasn't he?" Aric growled, glowering at his mate.

"How did you know?" Takeshi asked, looking startled.

Aric rolled his eyes. "Please, it was only so obvious! The chilly tone of your voice, the way he looked terrified that you might blurt out the truth to his girlfriend..."

Takeshi smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't realize that it was so obvious. But it's old history now; we broke up over a year ago." He added in a soothing voice, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "So there's nothing to be jealous of, my wolf."

That made Aric feel a little better, although he still felt the urge to tear his former rival apart. "So what happened between you two?" he asked, filled with a perverse sense of curiosity.

Takeshi sighed. "Do you really want to know? Like I said, it's all old history..."

"Please," Aric said, although he wasn't sure why he wanted to know so badly, when likely it would only make him jealous. But he was curious to know what kind of people Takeshi had dated in the past. Ash, he could understand even if he didn't like the idea of it. Ash was a good guy, and Takeshi spent a lot of time with the werewolves, but Paul struck him as being the typically shallow pureblood type. And then Aric realized with a touch of chagrin, that that description had probably fit him as well, when he had first met Takeshi. Maybe Takeshi had a thing for shallow pureblood guys.

"We were yearmates in Ravenclaw," Takeshi explained. "We were friendly in school, but we lost touch after we graduated. Then one day we happened to run into each other on the street after work, and we went out for a drink." He smiled wryly. "To get caught up, and talk about old times. One thing led to another, and...well...we started dating. Things went well for awhile. I even took him home to meet my parents, and he was shocked that they didn't care that I was gay, and were even happy to meet my boyfriend." 

He sighed. "I guess that should have been a warning sign, but I didn't pick up on it right away. But gradually I began to notice that he never wanted to go out in public together. Whenever I suggested going out for dinner, he'd always say that he'd rather stay in, at my flat or his. He'd say that he loved my cooking, or that he wanted to spend as much time alone with me as possible, and at first I was flattered. But then there was a Weird Sisters concert playing in London, and I insisted that we go. To be honest, I don't really like the band that much; I think I was just subconsciously testing him. We ran into some of his friends from work at the concert, and when they asked who I was, he made up some story about me being an old classmate that he hadn't seen in years, that he happened to run into at the show."

"He could've just said that you were a friend," Aric said.

"That's exactly what I told him!" Takeshi said, beginning to look angry at the memory, despite his claim that it was "old history". "I didn't expect him to go around publicly declaring that I was his lover. I don't advertise the fact that I'm gay, either; I'm discreet, except with my family and friends. But the way he lied about it made me realize that he thought our relationship was something to be ashamed of. We argued about it later in private. He told me, what did I expect? He was the heir to his family, and it would cause a big scandal if something like this got out, not to mention that he might lose his job. He said, why couldn't we just go on as we had been doing; weren't we happy? And I asked him was he going to make a marriage alliance someday, and did he expect me to stick around and be his concubine on the side?" 

He sighed again. "Things got pretty ugly. We had a huge fight, and I ended up throwing him out of my apartment and telling him never to come back. I haven't seen him since then, until now."

"I'm sorry," Aric said in a small voice, feeling very ashamed and humbled. "No wonder you were so mad, that night I got drunk and came to you at the clinic. I treated you the same way that stupid git did. It must have brought back bad memories, and...I really am sorry, 'Keshi."

Takeshi smiled at him tenderly. "It's not the same thing, my wolf," he said softly. "You came to me that night to tell me the truth about your betrothal. It hurt, but at least you were honest with me. Of course you did let your hormones get the better of you, but you apologized, and you didn't really expect me to play mistress to you. I think Paul really did believe that we could remain lovers even after he got married."

"Stupid git," Aric growled.

"It's all right," Takeshi said soothingly. "I have you now, my wolf, so everything turned out all right in the end."

"But you loved him?" Aric asked jealously.

Takeshi laughed, sounding genuinely amused and surprised. "Oh no, I never loved him! I thought at the time that he might be 'the one,' but I wasn't sure. Later I realized that it was only infatuation, not love, and I was a little embarrassed that I'd let myself be taken in by someone so shallow. I assure you, Aric, that I feel no regret over Paul--except perhaps regret that I didn't break up with him sooner!"

"But just now, you looked so sad when you watched him leave with Anna," Aric said uncertainly.

"You misunderstood, my wolf," Takeshi said, smiling at him warmly. "I wasn't feeling sad because Paul is with someone else. I was only worried about Anna. I don't know if it's serious between them, but it seems like it might be, if she's meeting his parents. I wouldn't like to see her get hurt, if it turns out that he's just using her to keep people from suspecting that he's gay, or to make a marriage of convenience. He is the heir of his family, which means that he needs to produce an heir of his own someday."

Aric felt a profound sense of relief, although he knew that he'd been stupid to doubt his mate's love for him. "Well, but maybe he really does like her?" Aric suggested, although a bit dubiously. "I mean, I used to like girls as well as boys." Then he added hastily as Takeshi glared at him, "Before I met you, of course!" But he was secretly tickled that he could make Takeshi jealous; at least the possessiveness wasn't all one-sided.

"I don't know," Takeshi admitted. "He dated girls in school, but after we were together, I got the impression that it was all a cover. But he didn't really like to talk about it, so I don't know for sure."

"They're adults, Takeshi," Aric said, shrugging indifferently. He didn't know Paul or Anna personally, so it didn't really matter to him whether Paul sincerely liked Anna or if he was just using her. In Slytherin, it was every man for himself, and it was much the same at Durmstrang, which was essentially Slytherin House expanded into an entire school. The Slytherins did look after their families and the ones they loved, but they didn't expend much energy worrying about anyone else. "They're both old enough to take care of themselves. If Paul is deceiving Anna, and if Anna is foolish enough to let herself be deceived, then it's none of our business."

"That's a bit callous, isn't it?" Takeshi asked, frowning.

"I'm a Slytherin," Aric reminded him. "We're supposed to be callous. I'll fight to the death to protect you or my pack, but I don't waste time worrying about strangers or casual acquaintances. You knew what I was when you fell in love with me."

"Yes, you're right," Takeshi sighed, but he smiled faintly. "When you love someone, you must love them for what they are, not what you want them to be, or it isn't truly love."

"Of course," Aric said with a grin, "that probably means that you have bad taste in men--lucky for me!"

Takeshi laughed. "You aren't as selfish as you pretend to be, or you would not have risked your life to protect Lukas--and you were not yet a member of his pack then."

"Look who's talking," Aric retorted good-naturedly. "Sometimes I think you should have been a Gryffindor instead of a Ravenclaw!" 

"Oh dear," Takeshi said with a rueful smile. "I once accused Lukas of having a 'Gryffindor noble hero only-I-can-save-the-world complex' after he single-handedly took on that escaped Graphorn in Diagon Alley! And now I have my own words thrown back into my face. Although I don't think that taking on a rampaging Graphorn is the same as trying to stop my ex-boyfriend from deceiving his girlfriend."

"You don't know that he's deceiving her," Aric said impatiently. "For all you know, she doesn't love him either, but just wants to make an alliance with a wealthy pureblood family. Lots of pureblood girls think that way. But if it bothers you that much, you could just go ahead and tell her about Paul, although personally, I'd rather take on a Graphorn than tell some girl that I used to sleep with her boyfriend."

"Well, yes, I suppose that probably wouldn't go over very well," Takeshi admitted. "And Hufflepuffs are loyal. If she truly loves him, I doubt that she would believe me even if I did tell her." He made a face. "And Paul might think I'm trying to break them up so I can get back together with him, which is a rather disgusting thought. But still..."

"Look, Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan work at your parents' restaurant now, don't they?" Aric said, relenting for the sake of his mate. "Maybe you could ask them to talk to Anna. They're fellow Hufflepuffs, so if she hears it from them, maybe she'll believe it."

"It would still be a little embarrassing to talk about it with Hannah and Ernie, but that's a very good idea, Aric," Takeshi said, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps I'll do that." Then he smiled gratefully at his mate and said, "Thank you, my wolf."

"And...you don't have to be discreet for my sake," Aric said, a bit hesitantly. "I noticed that you introduced me to them as your roommate..."

"It wasn't because I was ashamed of you, my love," Takeshi hastened to assure him. "It's just...I didn't want to make a scene in the middle of the inn, and your parents don't know about us yet..."

"Oh, I know that," Aric reassured his mate. "I wasn't offended. And if you want to keep it quiet, that's fine with me. But I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to do it for my sake. I love you, and I don't care who knows it."

Takeshi's eyes filled with tears, and he reached across the table to squeeze Aric's hand for a moment. "Thank you, Aric. It makes me very happy to hear that." He blinked his tears away and laughed, "I don't think I'm ready to be as public with my affection as Remus is with Professor Snape, though!"

"Yeah, he's always hugging and kissing Snape in public," Aric laughed. "The Professor always looks mortified."

Takeshi smiled, a bit slyly. "Oh, if he really didn't like it, he would find a way to stop Remus. He is a former Death Eater, after all; he's quite capable of defending himself."

"I don't know," Aric objected. "Even a Death Eater can be henpecked, after all."

Takeshi laughed merrily. "I wouldn't let the Professor hear you say that, Aric--not if you value your continued existence!"

Aric laughed as well, but looked around a bit nervously, just to make sure that the menacing Potions Master wasn't eavesdropping on them. They continued eating their lunch, which by now had begun to go cold.

"You know, Aric," Takeshi said casually, pushing aside the remains of his sandwich, "I'm not really hungry, after all. Why don't we skip to dessert?"

"As you wish," Aric said, grinning widely to expose his fangs, and eyed Takeshi hungrily, in much the same way he had been looking at the steak earlier. They left some coins on the table to pay for their meal, then Apparated back to their flat.

*** 

They were in the middle of having "dessert" when Aric suddenly paused and said, "You know, you were supposed to start teaching me Japanese..."

"You want a bloody language lesson _now_?" Takeshi asked incredulously.

"Yes," Aric said, grinning wickedly as nuzzled his Takeshi's neck, evoking a helpless little moan from his mate; it was a delightful sound. "You should be pleased that I want to learn your native language. Besides, you were saying that 'motto' thing again."

"Oh," Takeshi said, blushing furiously. "Well, what would you like to know?"

"Well..." Aric said, thinking it over, as Takeshi squirmed impatiently beneath him. "How do you say 'harder'?"

"Motto tsuyoku," Takeshi replied, then cried out as Aric obeyed with a swift, strong thrust.

"Tell me something else," Aric said, grinning again. "Your choice. Something you think will be useful for me to know."

"'Motto fukaku' means 'deeper,'" Takeshi gasped breathlessly. He moaned loudly as Aric obeyed, then whimpered in protest when Aric stopped after just a couple of strokes.

"Something else," Aric whispered, leaning in close, so that Takeshi could feel his breath on his face.

"Mo...motto yasashiku," Takeshi panted. "It means 'gentler'."

"As you wish," Aric whispered, and slowly pulled out of his lover, and just as slowly slid back in, moving with infinite gentleness and tenderness. He brushed his lips against Takeshi's in a gentle, feather-light kiss.

Takeshi whimpered, then began chanting softly, "Motto...motto...motto..." And soon Aric lost control of his inner wolf, and was growling and snarling, thrusting into his mate hard and fast, but Takeshi wasn't complaining. His body moved against Aric's with just as much urgency, his legs wrapped tightly around Aric's waist, his hands clawing at Aric's back. Loud, frantic cries and moans spilled from his mouth in a primal language that needed no words to be understood.

Takeshi's dark eyes were glazed over with desire, but he blinked and they came back into focus as the mediwizard struggled to regain control of himself, just long enough to gasp, "One...last lesson...for you...Aric. 'Kande' means...'bite me'."

He tilted his head back, and Aric snarled and bit down hard on his exposed throat. Takeshi cried out and Aric howled triumphantly as they both came, their bodies trembling and shuddering from the intensity of their climax.

As the haze of pleasure receded, Takeshi returned to full awareness to find Aric gently nuzzling his throat, as if to soothe the flesh he had just bitten and bruised. "Oohh," Takeshi groaned softly. "I can't believe how easily I can come, just from you biting me. It's a little embarrassing, actually."

"Oh, I think it's more than just the biting that does it," Aric said, grinning wolfishly, his lips pulling back to expose canine teeth that were just slightly longer and sharper than they used to be before he had been turned, giving the impression of fangs. "But shall we test that theory?" 

He pressed his lips against Takeshi's throat, then slowly bit down on the soft flesh, much more gently than he had just a little earlier. Takeshi moaned softly, a faint tremor running through his body, and Aric chuckled. "Nope, biting alone isn't enough. Although maybe we should test that theory again when you've...ah...recovered your strength. After all, you don't have a werewolf's stamina, although you do a pretty good job of keeping up with me, my lovely crane."

"Remus thinks that the wolf's desire is contagious," Takeshi murmured.

Aric shook his head and laughed, "I hate to say it, but maybe I ought to ask Lupin for a few pointers."

"I told him that he should give a sex-education class for werewolves," Takeshi said with a grin.

"Still, I bet I know something that he doesn't," Aric said.

"Oh?" Takeshi asked, raising his eyebrows. "And what might that be, my wolf?"

"That language lessons can be real turn-on in bed," Aric growled softly into his ear.

"Then I have one more lesson for you," Takeshi said, wrapping his arms around Aric's neck. "Aishiteru."

"And what does that mean?"

"I love you," Takeshi whispered and kissed him tenderly.

*** 

Later that evening, Aric nervously adjusted the collar of his robe and smoothed down a stray lock of hair as he gazed into the mirror. He was wearing a black robe of good quality, but not the formal dress robe he would have worn if Takeshi had not nixed that idea.

"No need to be so formal, my love," Takeshi said soothingly. "You would only look overdressed. It's just a family dinner, after all."

"Easy for you to say," Aric grumbled. "I bet you wouldn't be so nonchalant if you were meeting my parents."

"No, because your parents would regard our relationship as something shameful," Takeshi agreed calmly. "But my parents, on the other hand, are delighted that I've chosen a mate and are eager to welcome you into the family. So it is not really the same thing at all. You'll be fine, Aric." He patted his lover on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "My mother is a romantic like me, so she's happy that I've finally found true love, and it doesn't hurt that the whole thing sounds like one of the fairy tales she used to tell me and my brother when we were small: your dramatic rescue of Lukas, risking your life and sacrificing your humanity, and then bonding with me as a lifemate. She's actually quite pleased that you're a werewolf, because wolves mate for life like cranes do. So she feels that there's a certain affinity and compatibility between you and I."

"She's happy that I'm a werewolf," Aric repeated incredulously.

"That's right," Takeshi replied blithely. "As for my father, just tell him that you love his cooking, and ask for seconds; he'll be your friend for life. He loves it when people compliment his cooking. And he loves to see people enjoy a hearty meal; that's why he became a chef, after all. He says there's something wrong with people who don't enjoy eating, thinks it indicates a moral deficiency or something. Well, Father tends to be a bit obsessive on the subject of food...but anyway, just tell him everything tastes great, and you'll be fine."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard," Aric said, although he was still a little nervous. "I had lunch at your parents' restaurant once, and I thought the food was great. So I won't have to fake it. Although I could if I had to." He smiled a little bitterly. "We purebloods are very good at faking things."

Takeshi reached out and gently took Aric's hands in his own. "Just be yourself, my love," he said softly. "Let them see the Aric that I know and love."

"Sorry," Aric said gruffly. "I'm okay, just a little nervous."

Takeshi brushed his lips against Aric's. "They will love you, I promise, my wolf," he said tenderly. "Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Aric sighed.

Aric had never been to the Kimuras' home, so he let Takeshi Apparate them both there, and was surprised when they appeared outside the entrance of the Sakura. "Are we having dinner at the restaurant?" he asked.

"No, my parents live in an apartment above the shop," Takeshi explained. "We'll be eating there. We could've just eaten in the restaurant, of course, but my mother wanted a nice, quiet family dinner, just the four of us."

Before Aric could start feeling nervous, Takeshi opened the door and they were immediately greeted by his mother Haruko, who was as usual clad in an elegant silk kimono. She gave them both a warm, welcoming smile and said, "I'm so glad that you're here!" She kissed Takeshi on the cheek. "Your father has been looking forward to this all day; he's been so excited, just like a little boy." She bowed to Aric, Japanese-style, then to his surprise, gently kissed him on the cheek as well. "We are both looking forward to getting to know you, Aric."

"Ah...me too," Aric said awkwardly, his smooth pureblood charm temporarily abandoning him, but Haruko just smiled at him fondly, like an indulgent mother. 

"The two of you go on upstairs," she said. "I'll be up in a few minutes." Just then, a wizard and witch walked in, a young couple out on a date, it looked like, and Haruko bowed to them and said, "Welcome, let me show you to your table."

Takeshi led Aric through the restaurant to the kitchen, and he noticed that the Sakura seemed to be quite busy tonight. Most of the tables in the main dining area were filled, and the private rooms that they passed by seemed to be occupied as well; Aric could hear conversation and laughter, and see shadows moving behind the sliding paper doors. The kitchen was bustling, too. A serious-looking Japanese man who appeared to be in his late thirties was overseeing a few other cooks and assistants, including Aric's pack brother Kian, who was industriously chopping up vegetables.

"Hey, Aric," he said, looking up and grinning at them for a moment before resuming his work. "Hey, Takeshi. Your dad is really excited about seeing you. He's upstairs cooking up a storm."

The head cook smiled and said, "Takeshi-kun, it's good to see you again. Your mother is always complaining that you don't come by often enough."

"I'm sorry to take Otoosan out of the kitchen when it's so busy, Keijiro-san," Takeshi said apologetically.

"Nonsense," Keijiro said, waving off Takeshi's apology. "We're doing fine, and your friend is a good addition to the staff." He nodded at Kian. "He may not have much experience, but he's a quick learner."

"I don't know much about Japanese food except that I like eating it," Kian said cheerfully. "But Keijiro-san and the Master are teaching me. But I do know how to chop vegetables, at least. I worked in the kitchen of an inn once, before I got fired for being a werewolf."

"The Master?" Aric asked.

"My father," Takeshi explained. "The owner of a restaurant or bar is called 'Master' in Japan. My mother would be the Okami-san, or Proprietress."

"Except that everyone calls her 'Haruko-sama' or 'Lady Haruko,'" Kian interjected with a grin. "Because she's so beautiful and graceful."

"She is of the crane clan," Keijiro said. "They have a natural grace and nobility. Go on upstairs, Takeshi-kun. Your father is eager to see you." He smiled at Aric. "And your friend."

"Ah, sorry," Takeshi said apologetically. "Aric, this is Keijiro, my father's assistant, second-in-command of the kitchen. Keijiro-san, this is my mate, Aric."

The chef smiled and bowed, and Aric bowed back, flushing a little. He still wasn't used to being introduced as Takeshi's "mate," but he kind of liked it.

The kitchen staff were bustling around the kitchen in an almost hectic but still controlled manner, and a kimono-clad waitress was calling out new orders. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the staff sometime when it's not so busy," Takeshi murmured to Aric, then started to lead him towards a stairway at the back of the kitchen when Hannah Abbott walked into the room.

"Oh, hello Takeshi, Aric," she said. She was clad in a pale pink kimono decorated with a design of delicate white blossoms, and a darker pink sash wrapped around her waist. It seemed a bit unusual to see a kimono on a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl, but it complemented her fair complexion surprisingly well.

"Wow, you look really cute!" Aric blurted out, then grinned sheepishly as Takeshi elbowed him in the side and pretended to glare at him.

Hannah giggled, then Takeshi smiled and said, "You look very charming, Hannah."

"Thanks!" Hannah said, twirling around to show off the kimono. "I really love it; it's so pretty! Your mother loaned it to me. I'm helping to wait tables tonight since it's so busy."

"How is the delivery business going?" Takeshi asked politely.

"Oh, pretty well," Hannah replied. "Kai's out on a delivery right now, as a matter of fact. We're still trying to perfect the spells that keep the food from spilling, so we're only delivering within Diagon Alley right now. We're using a stasis spell to keep the food hot or cold, and we've been working on an immobility charm to keep the containers from moving around or spilling during transit. We're still fine-tuning the spell, but we should have it tested and worked out within a week, and then we can start expanding our delivery area. The delivery service has gotten a lot of interest; most of our customers say that they'd love to order take-out when they don't have time to dine in."

"Hannah-chan," Keijiro called, "the order for Table Six is up."

"Well, I've got to go!" Hannah said, waving at them cheerfully. "Enjoy your dinner! Master Isamu and Lady Haruko have really been looking forward to it; that's all they've talked about all day."

"Do they call your mother 'Lady' just because of her beauty, or is your family high-ranking in Japan like the pureblood elite are here in Britain?" Aric asked Takeshi curiously as they headed up the stairs.

"It depends on your point of view," Takeshi replied. "The human wizards in Japan regard the shapeshifter races as semi-divine, so it is considered a great badge of honor to possess the blood of a crane, tengu, kitsune, or tanuki. So in the eyes of the human wizards, our blood is considered noble, and we are about equivalent in status to the wealthy pureblood families here. In the eyes of the shapeshifters, however, we are nothing special, just a normal wizard family that can claim a crane maiden as a distant ancestor. As I told you before, some of the pureblooded cranes look down on those of us who are part-human. Not all of them, or even most of them, but let us say, a significant and vocal minority."

"So things aren't so different there than they are here," Aric observed.

"Not really," Takeshi admitted. "Although we are better at setting aside our differences and cooperating in times of need. However, during times of peace and prosperity, my people can indulge in petty quarrels and prejudices just as readily as the British wizards. And we are ruled by a wizards' council of representatives from the various human and shapeshifter clans, which means that a single incompetent ruler cannot come to power as Cornelius Fudge did. On the other hand, with so many people on the Council, it often means that it takes a long time for them to reach decisions if there is no clear majority on an issue."

"Politics," Aric sighed. "I guess it's pretty much the same, no matter where you go."

"It's human nature, I suppose," Takeshi said with a smile.

And then they reached the living quarters of the Kimura family. The stairway landing opened up into a combination living room/kitchen divided by a counter, much like the general layout of Takeshi's flat. Takeshi's father Isamu had apparently just finished cooking, and was setting platters of food out on the dining room table.

"Otoosan," Takeshi laughed, "are you expecting any other guests besides Aric and myself? A small army, perhaps?"

"You exaggerate, Takeshi," his father replied cheerfully. "I'm sure that two healthy young men such as yourselves can make short work of this meal. Especially young Aric; I do recall that most of your werewolf friends have a very good appetite." He gave Aric a friendly smile. "Isn't that right, Aric?"

"Everything looks delicious, sir," Aric said, and he must have sounded properly enthusiastic because Isamu beamed at him. And the food did indeed look and smell wonderful, although Aric was so nervous, his stomach close to tying itself into knots, that he worried that he wouldn't be able to eat any of it. Still, Takeshi's parents had welcomed him warmly, which made him feel slightly better, and for once he was glad of his wolf instincts, which seemed to be taking control at the scent of freshly-grilled meat, the knots in his stomach beginning to loosen as the wolf's hunger asserted itself.

"You're just in time, dear," Isamu said as Haruko entered the room. "Everything is just about ready."  "Oh, good," Haruko said. "I'm glad that I didn't keep you waiting. It's a little busy tonight; many families and young couples celebrating the end of the school year, I believe. Business always picks up during the holidays."

"I hope we're not causing an inconvenience, taking you away from the restaurant on a busy night," Aric said nervously.

"Not at all," Haruko reassured him with a gentle smile. "Keijiro is more than capable of running the kitchen by himself, and it's also fortunate that we have four new workers. Hannah, Ernie, Kian, and Kai are working out very well. They'll be a big help when we go on vacation this summer."

"Well then, shall we eat?" Isamu asked cheerfully, and they all sat down at the table. Takeshi hadn't been exaggerating by much when he had joked about his father cooking enough for an army; a veritable feast was laid out on the table. There were platters of sushi, noodles, grilled meat and fish and chicken, batter-coated fried shrimp, and a few other dishes that Aric couldn't readily identify. 

"Please help yourself," Haruko told Aric with a smile, and the Kimuras began serving themselves from the communal platters, so Aric did likewise, taking a little of everything, which still left him with a plate heaped high with food. Isamu nodded approvingly and poured him a glass of sake. It tasted quite good, although it didn't have the same bite as Firewhiskey, but then again, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get drunk during his first dinner with the in-laws. The sake wasn't nearly as strong as Firewhiskey, but Aric resolved to partake of it sparingly nevertheless.

"This is delicious, Mr. Kimura," Aric said after he had taken a few bites, and it wasn't just shameless flattery.

"Thank you, Aric," Isamu said, beaming at him happily. "But please, you must call us 'Father' and 'Mother'."

Aric's jaw dropped in shock, and Takeshi leaned over and murmured, "In Japan, it is customary to call the parents of your spouse 'Mother' and 'Father'."

"Yeah, people do that here sometimes too," Aric said, trying to regain his composure. "But we aren't married...I mean, even if we wanted to, British wizarding law doesn't allow two people of the same gender to get married."

"But you and Takeshi are lifemates, are you not?" Haruko asked gently, and Aric nodded. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Takeshi. "Well then," Haruko continued, "in our eyes, at least, that makes you Takeshi's spouse, and therefore, our son."

"So please call us 'Father' and 'Mother,' son," Isamu repeated.

Aric felt tears sting his eyes. He had expected Takeshi's parents to be polite, even friendly towards him for the sake of their son, but they had gone far beyond that and accepted him wholeheartedly as part of the family. While his real family, except for Erika and Theo, had turned their backs on him without much sign of remorse that Aric could see. His mother had wept and said that she still loved him, but neither she nor his father nor his grandparents had bothered to visit him either in the hospital or at Hogwarts since the day of the attack. They hadn't even so much as owled him a letter...

"But you don't have to, if you don't feel comfortable with that," Haruko said kindly, as Takeshi stared at Aric with a concerned look on his face.

"It's not that," Aric said, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I am honored..." He had to swallow hard to speak past the lump that seemed to have formed in his throat. "...that you consider me part of your family. It's just...that's what I call my own parents, or used to call them, anyway. They...they aren't as understanding as you and Mr. Kimura are. They haven't spoken to me since they found out I'd become a werewolf."

"Aric," Takeshi said softly, laying his hand on Aric's arm.

Haruko smiled at Aric in a compassionate and understanding manner. "Then perhaps you could call us 'Otoosan' and 'Okaasan' like Takeshi does. It means the same thing, but perhaps it wouldn't have the same..." She hesitated. "...painful association that calling us 'Father' and 'Mother' would." She hastened to add, "But you don't have to if that makes you feel uncomfortable, dear. You can just call us by our names, if you prefer."

"No, I think I would like that...Okaasan," Aric said hesitantly. The foreign word felt a bit strange on his tongue, but the Kimuras were gazing at him with genuine love and concern, and even though it brought tears to his eyes again, it made him feel good to once more be part of a family. And of course he had Lukas and the pack, and Erika, and Theo and Lupin and Snape and Dylan. So it wasn't like he was totally bereft of family even though it hurt that his parents had rejected him. If he'd been a daughter instead of a son, he would have married into another pureblood family anyway, so maybe he should think of it less like he was no longer part of the the Dietrich family, but more like he was marrying into Takeshi's family.

"Thank you, Okaasan," Aric said, with more confidence this time, blinking away his tears. He turned to Isamu and said with a smile, "The food is excellent, Otoosan."

All three of the Kimuras smiled with relief, and the conversation turned to safer, more trivial topics--business at the restaurant and the upcoming trip to Japan.

"I'm looking forward to it," Aric said, which was true now that he no longer had to worry about whether Takeshi's parents approved of him or not.

"I'm glad," Haruko said. "No one will expect you to be fluent in Japanese, of course, and most of the people you'll meet speak at least a little English, but it would be polite for you to learn a few simple phrases of greeting and thanks."

"Oh, Takeshi's already started giving me Japanese lessons," Aric said innocently.

Haruko gave her son a concerned look as he began choking on his food. "Are you all right, Takeshi?"

"Yes," he gasped, when he finally stopped choking and coughing. His face still red, he gave Aric a brief glare; Aric just gave him an innocent, "what did I do?" look in response. 

"I'll get you back for that," Takeshi whispered, in a voice so soft that only a werewolf could have overheard it. Then he said sweetly, "Oh yes, Aric has been a most diligent pupil."

"And what have you learned so far, Aric?" Isamu asked.

And then it was Aric's turn to blush and splutter. "Um...er...ah...well..."

Isamu chuckled and Haruko smiled indulgently. "It's all very well to teach him lover's talk, dear, but do try and teach him some practical things as well," she told her son.

"I will, Okaasan," Takeshi promised, and Aric's face turned even redder as he slid down in his chair, wishing he could sink right through the floor in humiliation. He would have to remember to be more careful about teasing Takeshi in the future; his beautiful Ravenclaw lover could be as cunning and devious as a Slytherin when it came to taking revenge.

He bent his head down over his plate in an attempt to hide his blush, and concentrated intently on eating as the Kimuras made cheerful small talk around him. The result was that he had soon polished his plate clean, and remembering Takeshi's advice, he asked, "Is it all right if I have seconds, Otoosan?"

"Of course!" Isamu said heartily, clapping Aric on the back. "Eat up; there's plenty!" He nodded approvingly at his son. "I like to see a young man with a good appetite. Too many young people these days just pick at their food...worried about watching their weight and such. Personally, I think that there's something wrong with someone who can't take pleasure in good food and drink..."

Takeshi smiled and rolled his eyes slightly at Aric, an "I told you so" look on his face as they listened to the elder Kimura wax on about how a lack of appreciation for food indicated a lack of moral character and fiber. Aric didn't mind; he just kept eating and nodded in agreement whenever Isamu paused briefly during his lecture. And his "father-in-law" would pat him on the back and say what a fine young man he was.

The wolf had a large appetite, and Aric ate much more than he would have before he had been turned, but finally even he was stuffed after having not just seconds but thirds. Fortunately, that seemed to be enough to please Isamu, and the family relaxed, sipping cups of hot tea after the dishes had been cleared away.

"Let me bring out some of the family photo albums for you to look at, Aric," Haruko said.

"Oh no, Okaasan, not my baby pictures!" Takeshi wailed plaintively, but his mother ignored him and hurried into one of the back rooms. "She does this with every guy I bring home," Takeshi complained good-naturedly.

"You're the one who wanted me to meet your family," Aric reminded him with a heartless grin. He was still a little jealous of those past boyfriends, and he didn't mind seeing Takeshi suffer just a little bit of embarrassment. Besides, he was curious to see what his lover had looked like as a child.

"Here we go," Haruko said cheerfully, returning with the photo albums. There were pictures of a chubby, dark-haired baby that Aric assumed was Takeshi, and some of the baby posing with his parents and a young boy, about five or six years older that Aric assumed was Takeshi's brother Ichiro. And there was one of Ichiro cradling a large, gangly chick covered with downy, light brown feathers in his lap.

"Um...is that you?" Aric asked Takeshi, pointing to the chick.

Takeshi grinned sheepishly, and Haruko laughed. "He transformed for the first time when he was just a little short of two years old. Everyone was quite stunned, because no one in my family had been able to take crane form for the last few generations. He and Ichiro were playing in the yard, and something startled him--the neighbor's dog suddenly barking and running up to him, I believe. Poor Ichiro fell over in surprise when his baby brother suddenly turned into a bird right in front of his eyes!"

She laughed again, and so did Isamu. "Even the dog was shocked! He never came near Takeshi again after that."

"I thought cranes were white," Aric said.

"The chicks are born looking like this," Takeshi said, pointing to his "baby" picture. "The feathers gradually change to white and black as they mature."

"So, are crane babies born like normal babies, or are they...um...hatched?" Aric asked.

"It depends on what form the mother takes when she gives birth," Takeshi laughed. "A pureblooded crane woman could remain in bird form and lay an egg and hatch it, but most choose to give birth as women in the normal human fashion. The children usually learn how to shapeshift as toddlers, around ages three to four, but apparently I was a bit precocious."

Aric continued to flip through the photo albums. "Aw, that's really cute," he said, pointing to a picture of a five-year-old Takeshi and eleven-year-old Ichiro in kimonos. There were also several pictures of Takeshi at various ages in his Hogwarts uniform. "Your hair didn't used to be so long," Aric observed. In most of the pictures, Takeshi had shoulder-length hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Most of the crane folk like to wear their hair long--waist-length or longer," Takeshi replied. "But the other boys at Hogwarts made fun of me, saying that I looked liked a girl, so I cut it. But I grew it out again after I graduated." He grinned. "The crane folk also tend to be a little vain."

"Well, I guess I can't blame you," Aric laughed, smiling affectionately at his mate. But he also thought to himself that it was a good thing for those kids who had picked on Takeshi that Aric hadn't been going to Hogwarts back then, because he would have beaten them to a pulp. Stupid gits had probably just been jealous that Takeshi was obviously so much handsomer than them.

"Oh, let's take a picture together, all four of us, since Aric is part of the family now!" Haruko exclaimed. She hurried out of the room again and returned with a camera. She set it up on a stand, set the timer on it, then hurried over to pose with Isamu, Takeshi, and Aric before the flash went off. "There," she said happily, "we'll add that to the album after it's developed. And we'll take more pictures in Japan."

"My mother is a bit of a shutterbug, as you might have guessed," Takeshi whispered to Aric.

"It's okay," Aric whispered back, blinking back tears again. "I'm glad that she wants me to be part of your family."

Not long after that, Takeshi and Aric left, but not before Haruko filled several containers with leftovers for them to take home; it looked like they wouldn't have to cook for the next few days. "And you must come back and have dinner with us again soon," she urged.

"We will," Aric promised, and Takeshi smiled at him.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Takeshi whispered.

"You were right," Aric admitted, and he reached out and took Takeshi's hand, and they Apparated back home together.

*** 

Takeshi had to go back to work the next day, but since Smethwyck didn't want to start Aric until he returned from their trip in August, he was left with some free time on his hands. Fortunately, he didn't remain idle for long. Instead of moping around the flat by himself, he went to help out at the clinic, where a very humbled and repentant Stewart Ackerley was volunteering as penance for his role in the R.A.'s crimes. Although Lukas had forgiven the boy, Aric wasn't inclined to be as lenient. He ordered Stewart around in a brusque, Snape-like fashion, but the young Ravenclaw didn't bristle or object, but meekly obeyed Aric's orders, seeming to take the verbal abuse as his due.

In fact, he was so meek and penitent that Aric found it a little pathetic, and gave up berating Stewart (since it was providing poor entertainment value), and started speaking to him in a more normal tone of voice. As he watched the boy work, Aric grudgingly conceded to himself that Stewart was a competent potion-brewer, and put him to work preparing ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion.

Stewart worked hard, without a single word of complaint, and Aric finally told him to take a break around noon. He was just considering whether he ought to go home and have some leftovers for lunch or maybe send Stewart out to pick up some food, when Kai walked into the clinic. In one hand, he was carrying a large metal box by a handle set in the top, and he had a rolled-up newspaper tucked under his other arm. 

"Two bowls of ramen, courtesy of Lady Haruko," the blond werewolf cheerfully declared. He set the box down on a counter, slid aside a panel on the front of the box, and took out two large bowls of steaming hot noodles in a brownish broth, garnished with diced green onions, strips of pork, sliced hard-boiled eggs, and a disc of something white with pink swirls (which Aric later learned was fishcake).

"We still have tons of leftovers at home," Aric said, but the hot soup did smell very good, and it would be discourteous to waste his mother-in-law's gift, so he dug into his meal with good appetite.

"I don't really deserve this," Stewart muttered in a subdued voice as Kai handed him the other bowl.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Aric said disgustedly. "Spare me the self-pity. Starving yourself and beating your breast with remorse isn't going to make up for nearly getting Lukas--I mean, Master Diggory--killed. If you want to show that you're sorry, just work hard and keep your mouth shut. And eat your damn lunch. You won't do me any good if you faint with hunger and fall into the potion cauldron."

"Yes, Aric," Stewart said meekly, and began eating.

Kai gave his pack brother a quizzical smile. "You're only mad at him because of Lukas? You're not angry that he indirectly caused you to be turned into a werewolf?"

Stewart's face went red with shame, but Aric just shrugged and ducked his head, staring into his soup. "I don't really mind," he said gruffly. "It's kind of turned out to be a good thing."

Stewart gaped at him in shock, and Kai chuckled, smiling knowingly. "Okay, enjoy your lunch; I'll stop by and pick up the dishes later. Oh, and by the way, have you seen the latest Daily Prophet?" He tossed the paper down on the counter, and Aric nearly choked on his food as he read the headline: "RABASTAN LESTRANGE CAPTURED BY HARRY POTTER!"

"What?!" he exclaimed, and Stewart forgot his meekness and rushed over to read the paper over Aric's shoulder.

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" Kai said.

"Takeshi has a subscription," Aric replied. "But we didn't read the paper this morning, because we were...um...running a little late." He flushed as he recalled how his inner wolf had gotten aroused at the sight of Takeshi getting dressed for work, and how he had literally pounced upon his mate. Which had left Takeshi just barely enough time to get cleaned up and dressed again, and grab a cup of tea and a slice of toast before Apparating to St. Mungo's. In the rush, they had left the morning paper lying on the doorstep where the delivery owl had left it, still rolled up and unopened.

"Well, I've got to get back to work," Kai said. "I'll drop by later; you can keep the paper."

"Thanks," Aric said, and waved goodbye in a distracted manner as he read the article. In contradiction to the headline, Harry Potter claimed in his interview with Rita Skeeter that he had not really captured Lestrange, but that Professor Snape had done most of the work. The article did note that Snape had been heroically wounded during the pitched battle by a Dark Spell cast by Lestrange. It seemed that Prospero Zabini had also been present, and had been wounded fighting the fugitive Death Eater as well. 

It was quite confusing, but apparently Lestrange had been seeking revenge on both his former comrade Snape and the Boy Who Lived, and had kidnapped Snape's foster son, Dylan, saying that he would kill him unless Snape brought Harry Potter to him. It also seemed that Lestrange had desecrated James Potter's grave out of spite. Harry had agreed to accompany Snape to save the hostage's life, and it seemed that Lupin, Sirius Black, Selima Snape, and Prospero Zabini had also come along. It wasn't quite clear why Zabini had come along, perhaps just coincidence, since the article said that he had stopped by to visit Professor Lupin when Lestrange issued his ransom demand. The reason why he was visiting Lupin was not stated, but perhaps no explanation was needed, since it was now an open secret in the wizarding world that Blaise and Theodore were lovers.

So after he finished working at the clinic, Aric stopped by Snape Manor to visit his cousin and find out what had really happened. And he discovered that the real story was even more incredible than the Daily Prophet's account: that Rabastan had attempted to raise James Potter's spirit and been possessed by it. Aric had to promise Lupin that he wouldn't tell anyone but Takeshi the truth because the Ministry didn't want to start a panic, but personally Aric doubted that anyone would believe him even if he did tell them the truth. He hardly believed it himself.

Takeshi also kept the promise he had made and told Aric to invite Dylan and Theodore over to watch movies at their flat. They came over the night before Theodore had to leave to return to his apprenticeship in Ireland, and ate popcorn and watched a video, some kind of "action" movie, Takeshi called it, with a lot of gunfire and explosions and a little romance thrown in. The three pureblood boys had trouble following the plot since the Muggle world was so alien to them, but they all agreed that it was highly entertaining, with a kind of guilty glee, like schoolboys who had snuck into Hogsmeade without permission and raided the candy store. Takeshi seemed to find their reactions even more entertaining than the movie, and laughed and said they could come over again sometime, perhaps when he and Aric returned from Japan.

And soon Lukas returned from his honeymoon with Narcissa. The pack gathered at the Diggory estate to greet their pack leader and his mate, and also to help him open up the mansion, which had been closed up and uninhabited for years. There was a moment of awkwardness when Narcissa faced the pack, her velvet gown and jewels unintentionally emphasizing the social difference between herself and the werewolves, not to mention the fact that she certainly wasn't dressed for a day of housecleaning. But then the twins, Lyra and Lance, broke the ice by running up to Narcissa and declaring that she was as beautiful as a princess. And to everyone's amazement--Aric's included--Narcissa knelt down, letting her skirt spread out on the dusty floor, and gathered the werewolf twins into her arms, saying that they were adorable children. 

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised to see her maternal instinct aroused, since it was obvious that she had spoiled Draco rotten as a kid, but then again, even Draco looked shocked to see his mother fussing over the twins as if they were her own. It probably helped that the twins were blonde and beautiful, a kind of reflection of Narcissa's own beauty, but whatever the reason, it instantly endeared her to the pack. And she actually did turn out to be quite adept with cleaning spells, although she ended up helping mostly by playing with the younger children and keeping them out of the way while the adults worked.

Although Lukas had intended for his family to split their time between the Malfoy and Diggory estates, they ended up living mainly at Diggory Manor. 

"It's easier to live here," Draco confided to Aric, in a rare moment of unguardedness. "Our old home...it's got too many memories of my father."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Aric agreed, remembering how Isamu's well-meant offer to call him "Father" had awoken painful memories of his own parents. They weren't dead, of course, but in a way they were dead to him. Maybe that was why Draco had chosen to confide in him although they'd never been close before, because they had both been betrayed by their fathers, in different ways. Draco just nodded solemnly, seeming to understand what Aric was thinking.

Several of the werewolves moved into the Manor at Lukas's invitation, including the families with children, and Kian and Kai. Aric kept his promise to teach the latter two how to play Quidditch with some equipment that Lupin borrowed from Hogwarts, and soon several of the other werewolves joined in, enough to make two teams with Aric and Draco acting as the captains. They would never reach professional quality, of course, but they had grasped the basics by the time Aric was ready to leave on his trip, and Draco promised to continue their training while he was gone.

But before Aric left on his trip, he had a party at Snape Manor to attend: a wedding reception for Lukas and Narcissa, organized by Selima Snape.

*** 

Aric received an invitation to the reception but Takeshi did not. "I don't have to go," Aric said, frowning at the invitation.

"It's all right, love, I have to work anyway," Takeshi replied, sounding unconcerned. "I'm putting in a few extra hours since I'm leaving St. Mungo's short one mediwizard for two months."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Aric asked anxiously. 

Takeshi smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Really, I don't mind. I'm sure that Remus could coax an invitation out of Professor Snape for me if I asked him, but Lukas has already celebrated his marriage with his real friends. There was the wedding and reception at Hogwarts, and the pack gathered at Diggory Manor to welcome Lukas and Narcissa when they came back from their honeymoon. This--" He tapped the invitation, heavy cream-colored card stock printed with gold ink. "--is all politics. Lady Selima's party is all about helping Lukas carve out a place for himself in pureblood society. There's nothing I can do to help Lukas politically at the moment, so my presence at the reception isn't required, and personally, a pureblood party isn't really my idea of a good time."

"You make it sound like so much fun," Aric said, smiling at his lover wryly. "Now I don't want to go, either."

"Oh, it won't be all that bad," Takeshi said, grinning back at him. "Professor Snape, Remus, and Dylan will be there, and so will many of your Hogwarts friends, I imagine. And besides, you should be on hand to give Lukas moral support. There won't be any other werewolves there besides you and Remus."

"Because they have no political clout?" Aric asked with a cynical smile. "Well, neither do I, so I'm not sure why I got an invitation."

"You're the cousin of the Snape heir," Takeshi replied. "And Lukas's unofficial foster son; he might have asked that you be included on the list. And you are a hero, at least among the young wizards and witches, for the way you risked your life to protect Lukas. From what I hear, Lady Selima is clever enough to see that you could be an asset to her party."

"Very well," Aric sighed. "I'll go to support my pack leader." He wrapped an arm around Takeshi and pulled him close. "But I hate every minute that I have to spend away from you."

"We'll be leaving for Japan the day after the party," Takeshi said, kissing him again. "And then we'll find some private time to spend together. You can think of it as our honeymoon."

"Mmm, I like the sound of that," Aric said, nuzzling his mate's neck and undoing the fastenings on his robe. "But maybe we can start the honeymoon a little early..."

*** 

"Hello, Aric," Lupin said, giving his former student a hug. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Professor...er, Remus," Aric replied, returning the embrace and looking only a little flustered. He was beginning to grow used to the werewolves' frequent displays of physical affection, and Lupin was particularly affectionate, even for a werewolf. "Hello, Professor Snape," he said after Lupin released him.

"Good evening, Dietrich," Snape said glumly, sipping at a glass of wine.

"Oh, don't look so glum, Severus!" Lupin said cheerfully. "This is a party, after all."

"I hate parties," Snape said sourly.

"Well, at least it's not your party," Lupin said consolingly. "Lukas is the center of attention tonight, not you."

"Thank Merlin for small favors," Snape muttered, drinking more wine. 

"And you might want to watch your alcohol intake, Sev. Lady Selima won't like it if you get drunk and cause a scene."

Snape just growled irritably, and Aric prudently moved away. It was always better not to be in the near vicinity when the Potions Master was in a bad mood. Guests were circulating around the ballroom, drinking wine or champagne and nibbling on plates of finger foods while they gossiped with each other. 

A house-elf walked through the room with a tray of drinks; he paused to offer the tray to Aric, who took a glass of wine. Holding court in the middle of the room were Lukas and Narcissa, looking regally handsome and beautiful in their formal velvet robes. Lukas was politely accepting congratulations from the party guests, and a stranger would never have guessed that he was a werewolf, with his aristocratic good looks and the cool, polished charm and manners of a pureblood Lord.

And Narcissa, who had been persona non grata in the pureblood world ever since Lucius Malfoy had been exposed as a Death Eater and slain in battle, was surrounded by a bevy of pureblood women, all chattering at her eagerly.

Draco was watching from the sidelines, a look of bemusement on his face, and Aric went over to join his fellow Slytherin. "What's going on?" Aric asked.

"Oddly enough, it seems that marrying a werewolf has increased Mother's popularity rather than the opposite," Draco replied. "The women seem to find the idea scandalously exciting. Not that they'd ever marry one themselves, you understand, but they get a vicarious thrill through gossiping with Mother about it." Draco lowered his voice to a whisper. "And I suspect that a few of them wouldn't mind secretly bedding a werewolf even if they would never wed one. There are rumors going around that the werewolves' bestial nature and inhuman strength make them...er...shall we say, particularly insatiable and vigorous lovers." Aric choked on his wine, and Draco smirked. "So, any truth to that rumor, Dietrich, or is it all hogwash?"

Aric glared at Draco as he choked and coughed. "None of your goddamned business, Malfoy! If you really want to know, go ask a werewolf out on a date!"

"I could," Draco said with a grin, "but I don't think that Serafina would like that."

"Yes, you don't want to make Avery mad; you could wind up in St. Mungo's," Aric agreed. "So are you two actually a couple?"

Draco sighed. "Well, we're sort of working up to it, I think, but it's not easy. She's not your typical girl, who likes to be courted with flowers and jewelry."

"You should take her on date to a bookstore or a library," Aric said, intending to be sarcastic, but Draco's expression brightened.

"Hmm, actually, that's not a bad idea, Dietrich."

Another thought occurred to Aric. "And you should ask her if she'd like to help out at the clinic. It would be good experience, since she's studying to be a Healer, and you have a good excuse to hang around the clinic since you're Lukas's stepson."

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Draco said enthusiastically. "Thanks, Dietrich."

Aric shrugged. "No problem."

It seemed that Draco hadn't been kidding about the rumors, because several young pureblood women appeared, including a few that he recognized from Hogwarts, and started flirting with him. Some just giggled and batted their eyelashes at him while the others asked in breathy voices what it was like to be a werewolf, and--with coy, suggestive glances--if he was still ruled by the beast's nature even in human form.

"Um...ah..." Aric stammered, a trapped and frantic look in his eyes. Just a few months ago, he would have enjoyed the company of several pretty and flirtatious young women, but all he could think about right now was how he could extricate himself from this situation as quickly as possible. He was also glad that Takeshi hadn't come to the party, after all. Although his lover wasn't quite as jealous as a wolf, he did have a rather vindictive streak.

He flashed Draco a pleading look, and the other boy grinned, looking as if he found the situation highly amusing, but took pity on Aric and said, "Oh, I think I hear Stepfather calling us. Excuse me, ladies, I need to borrow Mr. Dietrich for a few minutes."

The girls pouted, and one of them cooed, "Hurry back."

"Thank you, Malfoy," Aric said fervently as they hurried away from his admirers.

Draco laughed. "You could just tell them that you have a boyfriend, you know." Because Draco spent so much time around the werewolves, he was aware that Takeshi was more than just a friend and roommate to Aric.

"I don't want to cause a big scandal at Lady Selima's party," Aric replied.

"Are you kidding?" Draco said. "Celebrating the wedding of a pureblood woman to a werewolf--this whole party is one big scandal!" He glanced around. "And the crowd seems to love it. I'd say that the party is a huge success."

"Hello, Aric, Draco," Lukas said, giving the boys a wolfish grin. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes," Draco replied, as Aric simultaneously replied, "No."

Lukas laughed and affectionately slipped an arm around Aric's shoulders. "Well, neither am I, if it makes you feel any better."

"Not really," Aric said frankly. "Can I leave yet?"

"No," Lukas replied cheerfully. "I can't leave since I'm the guest of honor, so neither can you. Misery loves company, Aric."

"At least protect me from those girls," Aric pleaded.

"What?" Lukas laughed. "I didn't think that a Slytherin trained in the Dark Arts needed any help protecting his virtue. Presuming that you have any virtue to lose, that is."

"Ha ha, very funny," Aric said, giving his pack leader a sour look. "I'm not so much afraid of the girls as I am of what Takeshi will do to me if he hears that I've been flirting with a bunch of women. Even if they're the ones doing the flirting, not me."

"Ah yes," Lukas said sagely. "It's really not a good idea to make a healer angry. Anyone who knows how to heal pain also knows how to inflict it."

Aric groaned as Lukas chuckled, and then Lady Selima called, "Oh Lukas dear, there's someone I want to introduce you to..."

"Excuse me, Aric," Lukas said with a grin. "Duty calls. But perhaps you could go stand next to Snape; he'll probably scare off most of your overzealous fans with his mere presence."

Aric reluctantly conceded to himself that Lukas had a point, and went over to rejoin Snape and Lupin.

"So are you enjoying yourself, Aric?" Lupin asked.

"Not really," Aric replied.

"Join the club," Snape said, glowering at the laughing partygoers.

"You're leaving for Japan tomorrow with the Kimuras, I understand?" Lupin asked.

Aric nodded. "Yeah, we'll be there for about two months, visiting Takeshi's family." He sighed inwardly. Takeshi said to think of it as a "honeymoon," but it would probably involve meeting many more in-laws, which made it seem less appealing. He just hoped that all of Takeshi's relatives were as nice as Haruko and Isamu, but he couldn't help but remember Takeshi's comments about how some of the pureblooded crane folk were prejudiced against part-bloods.

"Then Severus and I will see you in about a week," Lupin said cheerfully.

"What?" a started Aric asked.

"Oh, haven't I mentioned it before?" Lupin said. "We've been invited to Chizuru's and Karasu's wedding. They taught at Hogwarts for half a year as part of a diplomatic mission, so we were colleagues and allies...and we came to be friends as well."

"Oh right, I remember," Aric said. He hadn't been attending Hogwarts then, but he had heard some of the other students talking about the shapeshifter teachers from Japan. 

"We were afraid we wouldn't be able to attend," Lupin continued, "but Theodore is settled in at his new apprenticeship, and that whole...er...unpleasantness with Lestrange has been resolved, so we're free to take a little vacation."

"My colleague Professor Kamiyama, the co-creator of the Wolfsbane Potion, has invited us to stay with him for a few weeks, to attend the wedding and to conduct some Potions research afterwards," Snape explained. "So it will actually be more of a working vacation."

"You make it sound so boring, Severus," Lupin complained good-naturedly. "I'm sure you won't be working the entire time. There will be time for a little sight-seeing, maybe a romantic walk in the woods..."

"I can hardly wait," Snape said sourly.

"And of course there's the wedding," Lupin sighed happily, ignoring his lover. "I'm sure that will be very romantic!"

Snape groaned out loud. "Every time we go to a wedding, Lupin, you do something to embarrass me!"

"Nonsense, Severus, you exaggerate," Lupin said dismissively. Then he gave Snape a sultry smile and purred, "You know, it's the first time since the war ended that we'll be having a vacation alone, just the two of us. Theodore will still be in Ireland, and Dylan wants to stay behind to visit with his great-uncle and aunt." He leaned in close, his lips nearly brushing against Snape's cheek. "So we could consider it a belated honeymoon..."

"Lupin!" Snape hissed, glaring at his lover with a look of outrage on his face. Aric had the feeling that he would have been shouting at Lupin except that he didn't want to attract Selima's attention.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Selima walked towards them, casually chatting with Molly Weasley. "Thank you so much for the cake you sent over, Mrs. Weasley," Selima was saying.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all," Molly said. "I thought that Severus might like a little comfort food while he was recovering from his wounds." She shuddered. "Thank goodness that Lestrange was finally captured! Now we can all rest easy knowing that the last of the Death Eaters is in prison." She smiled at Snape. "Thanks to Severus and Harry." Snape scowled at her, but both Molly and Selima seemed unperturbed. "You must be so proud of your son, Lady Selima."

"Oh, I am," Selima said serenely. "Severus dear, please don't scowl like that. This is a party, after all. At least try to look like you're enjoying it." As her son turned red and started spluttering, and Lupin tried to choke back his laughter, Selima turned back to Molly and said, "And you must be proud of your sons, as well, Mrs. Weasley. They have all turned into fine young men--young Percy, working alongside his father, and the other boys served honorably in the Order of the Phoenix..."

"Well, I must admit that I worried quite a bit about Fred and George, but they've settled down and their business is doing quite well. Oh, and please call me 'Molly,' Lady Selima."

"Oh, but then you must call me 'Selima,' Molly," Selima said, giving Molly a warm smile.

Molly smiled back, her eyes sparkling with pleasure, an awed and flattered look on her face, making her look not so much like the Minister's wife or a mother of seven, but like a young schoolgirl who has just been befriended by the most popular girl in school. "Well...thank you, Selima."

"It is I who should be thanking you, Molly. That upside-down cinnamon-apple cake was simply delicious."

"Oh, it's nothing," Molly said, flushing slightly. "Just a recipe I got from Witch Weekly. I did experiment with it, though, substitute a few of the ingredients...I could owl it to you, if you like."

"Oh yes, you must do that," Selima said, smiling as if nothing would please her more. "And then you must come to tea at the Manor next weekend, and we can talk about our sons over tea and cake."

"Oh, I would like that very much!" Molly said delightedly. "Actually, I could use your advice on a certain matter, if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Bill has finally proposed to Fleur, and planning the wedding is proving to be something of a trial. Not so much the wedding itself, but which people to invite, and how to avoid offending the ones who aren't invited..."

"Of course it's no trouble, Molly," Selima replied. "I understand; I went through similar problems myself, organizing parties when Severin worked at the Ministry. Yes, you must come to tea, and we will work on the wedding plans..."

The two women walked off, Molly still gazing at Selima like a starry-eyed schoolgirl, while across the room, Selima's friends Priscilla Parkinson and Elaine Baddock were watching with affronted looks on their faces, practically pouting at seeing their position usurped by a former nobody, only adding to the image of schoolgirl cliques and rivalries.

Lupin looked amused, while Snape and Aric just stood there, looking stunned. "Your mother doesn't cook, does she, Severus?" Lupin asked calmly.

"No, but Molly doesn't know that," Snape replied, still looking a little dazed. "Mother will probably give the recipe to Vorcher and have him bake the cake." He shook his head and said incredulously, "I can't believe that Molly Weasley has just become my mother's new best friend!"

"I admit, it does seem a little surreal," Lupin chuckled. "But your mother is a practical woman, and extremely adept at playing politics. It's only logical that she should befriend the Minister of Magic's wife."

"I remember my grandfather saying once that it was really Lady Selima who was behind Lord Severin's career," Aric said. "But I never fully appreciated what he meant before today. Merlin's Beard, Professor, if your father hadn't offended Lucius Malfoy, she might have made him Minister of Magic! Hell, she could have been Minister herself if she wanted to pursue a political career!"

"That is truly a scary thought, Dietrich," Snape said, shuddering; Lupin just laughed. "You know, Lupin," Snape said, giving his lover a puzzled look, "I would have expected you to be more disapproving of my mother's new 'friendship'. You know that Selima is only using Molly."

"Still, this new friendship might be good for her," Lupin replied. "Molly is sincere, and doesn't care about politics and ambition. If, Merlin forbid, the Snapes should fall from grace again, Molly won't abandon her the way her other friends would." Lupin glanced at Priscilla and Elaine. "I remember that Selima said once that Anya Diggory was one of the few real friends she had. Perhaps with time, she might come to value Molly as a true friend and not just a political ally."

"Perhaps," Snape said skeptically. "But I wouldn't count on it, Lupin. Sometimes your Gryffindor idealism amazes me."

Lupin smiled. "My idealism is intact, because I have seen truly amazing things, Severus. A man who claims to be a cynical and jaded Slytherin risking his life to fight the Death Eaters and protect his students, for example. Your mother accepting a werewolf into her family. And a young pureblood heir willing to risk his life to save someone that he cares about, and give up his blood purity and his inheritance for the sake of love." Snape and Aric both blushed, and Lupin gently teased, "So tell me...who are the real idealists here?"

Unable to come up with a better retort, Snape grunted, "Oh, shut up, Lupin."

"Hello, Aric," a familiar voice said. "Hello, Professors."

"Erika!" Aric exclaimed, turning to greet his sister with a startled but pleased smile. "I didn't know that you were coming to the reception!"

"It's good to see you again, little brother," Erika said, giving him a hug. "Yes, Lady Selima sent an invitation to the Dietrich family, but for some reason, I was the only one who wanted to come." Brother and sister exchanged sad and cynical smiles. "I packed up your things and had them delivered to your new address. Did you get the trunk yet?"

"Yeah, it just came in yesterday," Aric replied. "Thanks, Erika. Does this mean you're back in England permanently?"

"Yes, I tied up loose ends and quit my job in Germany," Erika said.

"Have you transferred to the London branch of Gringotts?" Lupin asked politely.

"No," Arthur Weasley replied, coming up beside Erika and briefly laying a hand on her shoulder. "She is my newest employee at the Ministry of Magic."

"What?!" Aric exclaimed.

Erika grinned. "Yes, I've just been hired to work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"Well, there was a vacancy in that department since Amos Diggory was sent to prison," Arthur said, giving Aric an apologetic look. "And since he was partly responsible for the attack on you, I thought it might serve justice to offer your sister a position in the Ministry. I would've offered it to you personally, Aric, but Remus told me that you have your heart set on a career as a mediwizard."

"Yes, that's right," Aric said firmly. "I already have a job lined up at St. Mungo's, so Erika is more than welcome to the Ministry position."

"I actually would have liked your sister to work in International Magical Cooperation," Arthur sighed regretfully. "But since the father of your ex-fiancee is the Head of that department, I thought that might create an awkward situation."

"I'm honored to be working in Control of Magical Creatures, Minister," Erika said, bowing slightly. "I promise that I'll work hard and prove your faith in me."

"I'm sure that you will, Erika," Arthur said with a smile. Then he spotted Molly waving across the room at him. "Please excuse me; I think my wife wants to talk to me." He sighed heavily. "Probably to discuss wedding plans."

"Yes, Molly told us the good news about Bill and Fleur," Lupin said.

"It is good news, but it's turning into such a production," Arthur sighed. "Honestly, I don't know anything about picking out flowers and bridesmaids' dresses and such; I don't know why Molly keeps asking my opinion about them. And to think that I'll have to go through this five more times! If only I could get all the kids married off in one mass wedding and just be done with it..."

Lupin laughed. "Well, Ginny's still in school, but I think it's likely that we might see a wedding between her and Harry, and Ron and Daphne in a few years. Maybe you could persuade them to have a double wedding. I don't think that Charlie, Fred, and George are ready to settle down yet." 

Arthur laughed, a little ruefully, and hurried over to his wife, looking a little harried. Aric turned back to his sister, and Lupin took Snape by the arm and led him away to give them some privacy.

"Are you happy about the job?" Aric asked.

"Yes," Erika replied. "I wasn't really planning on a career dealing with magical creatures, but I got good grades in Study of Magical Creatures." The course at Durmstrang, while similar to Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures class, put as much emphasis on learning how to defend against the creatures as it did on how to care for them--which might have been a helpful addition to the Hogwarts classes, considering the kinds of animals Hagrid had them caring for. "And it's a Ministry position--that's the main thing."

"Father and Mother must be proud that their heir will be working at the Ministry after all," Aric said, a little bitterly. 

"Aric," Erika said, looking worried, "you're not upset about me taking the position, are you?"

"No, Erika," Aric reassured her. "I'm still angry at Father and Mother, and Grandfather and Grandmother, but I'm not angry at you. I meant what I told Weasley; I don't want to work at the Ministry, so you're welcome to the position, Erika. I really mean it."

"Good," Erika said, relaxing. "Are you happy, Aric?"

"Yes," Aric replied, the bitterness easing and a smile spreading across his face as he thought of Takeshi. "I've never been happier in my life."

"I'm glad," Erika said, smiling at him. "You'll have to introduce me to your boyfriend later."

"It's too bad that we're leaving for Japan just when you've come back to England," Aric said regretfully. "But we can get together and have dinner when we get back." He grinned. "I'll take you to my in-laws' restaurant; the food is great there."

"I'll look forward to it," Erika said, grinning back at him. "In the meantime, I'll get settled in at the Ministry."

"I'm sure you'll be running the department in no time," Aric laughed.

"The Minister didn't actually give me Amos Diggory's position," Erika said. "It would cause too much dissension if he appointed a newcomer over the older and more experienced workers. The next senior staff member after Amos was promoted to Department Head, and I'm moving into the new vacancy." Erika smiled smugly. "But don't worry; I intend to work my way up to Department Head eventually. Sooner rather than later."

"I've no doubt of it, sister dear," Aric said with genuine respect. He held out his hand and asked, "Would you like to meet my pack leader?"

"I would love to," Erika replied, placing her hand in his. "I should pay my respects to the guest of honor, after all."

So Aric led her over to meet Lukas and Narcissa, and Erika politely greeted them and thanked them for looking after her brother. Narcissa seemed pleased to meet a pureblood woman who was being friendly towards her without wanting to discuss prurient gossip about her werewolf husband, and the two were soon deep in discussion as Narcissa gave Erika some advice about Ministry politics. Erika seemed pleased to receive it, and listened with interest, knowing that Narcissa had an intricate understanding of how the Ministry worked, since Lucius had worked there for so many years.

"I like your sister," Lukas told Aric. "She rather reminds me of a wolf herself."

"She's definitely a predator," Aric said with a grin.

"I think that her coworkers and superiors at the Ministry had better watch their backs," Lukas said with a sly smile.

"Oh yes," Aric agreed fervently.

Lady Selima announced that the dancing would begin, and music started playing on cue, and Lukas excused himself and escorted Narcissa onto the dance floor. Aric was about to ask Erika if she wanted to dance, when a very angry-looking Paul Keller marched up and demanded, "Where's Takeshi?"

Apparently Paul's family was high-ranking enough to warrant an invitation to Lady Selima's party. Aric vaguely recalled that the Kellers were a well-off pureblood family, although nowhere near as wealthy and high-ranking as the Snapes or the Blacks or even Aric's own family. "He's not here," Aric replied coldly. "He had to work tonight. But if you have a problem with him, you can address it to me, Keller."

"Fine," Paul snapped. "Tell him to stay out of my personal life and stop sending his friends to carry malicious gossip to my girlfriend! Anna came to me in tears the other day, all hysterical over some nonsense Hannah Abbott told her--and I know that it was Takeshi who put her up to it!"

"It's not nonsense, and you bloody well know it," Aric snarled. "All she did was tell Anna the truth--which you obviously haven't."

"Whatever I choose to tell or not tell my girlfriend is none of your or Takeshi's goddamned business!" Paul said through gritted teeth, obviously struggling to keep from shouting. "He gave up his right to interfere in my life when he--" Paul paused, his eyes flickering towards Erika, who was watching their argument with interest. "When we had a disagreement about pureblood social customs, and chose not to associate with each other any longer," he finished more circumspectly. "Tell him that I never expected him to be so petty."

"He's not doing it out of spite, you stupid git," Aric retorted, finding it increasingly hard to control his inner wolf and keep himself from attacking the man who had insulted his mate--and not just any man, but a former rival, someone who had dared to touch his mate intimately. And worse, someone stupid enough not to value what he'd had, although Aric supposed that he should be grateful for Paul's stupidity, since it had turned out to be his gain. Still, the wolf wanted to rend Paul limb from limb, while Aric would have settled for punching him in his handsome, arrogant face. Aric's lips drew back from his teeth in a snarl, and Paul took a nervous step backwards.

Aric realized that he was baring his teeth in a wolf-like manner, and took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control. "He's only worried about Anna," Aric said, with what he felt was admirable restraint. "He doesn't want to see her get hurt."

"It's none of his business!" Paul repeated. "Tell him to stay away from me and from Anna, or I'll..."

"Or you'll what?" Aric snarled, forgetting about control and restraint.

Paul turned pale, but he blustered, "Or...or I'll make you sorry, werewolf or not! In fact, if you try to threaten me, I'll have you locked up as a dangerous beast!"

"Oh, I don't think you want to do that," Erika said sweetly.

"And who the hell are you?" Paul asked.

"Erika Dietrich, newest member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," she replied. "It's my department that decides what is and is not a dangerous beast." She gave Aric an amused little smile. "And I hardly think that my little brother is a dangerous beast."

"Dietrich? Brother?" Paul said, looking from Erika to Aric. "You're his sister?"

"That's right," Erika said. She took a step forward, grabbed his wrist, and said, still smiling sweetly, "And it's not a good idea to threaten my family."

"I don't care who you are--" Paul started to say, then yelped and said, "Hey, that hurts!" when Erika tightened her fingers around his wrist in what Aric knew from experience was a bone-crushing grip. She had always been strong for a girl.

"Go ahead and scream if you want, Mr. Keller," Erika told him. "But that would attract attention, and it would be pretty humiliating for everyone to see a girl kick your arse across the ballroom, wouldn't it?"

"She can do it, too," Aric helpfully informed Paul.

"Ow ow ow!" Paul whined, as Erika literally started twisting his arm. "Okay, okay, I'll leave your brother alone! Let go of me!" Erika released him, and he hastily fled, pausing briefly to glare at Aric, but only once he was safely out of Erika's reach. Then he left the ballroom, and presumably, the Manor itself. 

"Well, Erika," Aric said with an ironic smile. "I'm not sure whether I should thank you or feel humiliated that I needed my big sister to beat up the bully who was picking on me."

"Oh, I know that you could have kicked his arse yourself," Erika said with a grin. "But that would have gotten you into trouble, since technically you are a 'dangerous beast'. And as the newest member of my department, I don't really have that much clout at the Ministry yet. But now he won't dare mention this to anyone, because then he'd have to tell them that he was scared of a little girl." She batted her eyelashes innocently.

It was a bit of a stretch to describe Erika as "a little girl," Aric thought, although he prudently kept that opinion to himself. She was tall and statuesque, but still a few inches shorter than Paul, and dressed in an elegant formal gown, she looked as feminine as any of the other pureblood ladies present. And although she hated doing so, Erika could simper and act dainty when it was necessary. No one who didn't know her intimately--such as the little brother she had once beaten up for breaking her favorite doll--would ever believe that she could physically manhandle and threaten Paul. If he tried to file a complaint against her, he would only look like an idiot and a coward. Aric had to admit that it really was better to let her handle it than to take on Paul himself.

"Thank you, sister dear," Aric said, kissing her on the cheek. "Would you care to dance with me?"

"I would be honored, brother dear," Erika laughed, allowing him to take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aric meets some of Takeshi's relatives in Japan, while Lupin looks forward to his and Snape's trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the Japanese terms/honorifics are explained within the story, but there is glossary in the end notes for those who are interested.

Aric and Takeshi had packed a couple of small suitcases with some clothes, a few books, and some gifts and toys for Takeshi's friends and relatives in Japan. Takeshi told Aric not to overpack, because they could always buy things in Japan or Portkey back if they really needed something they'd left behind. In fact, Isamu and Haruko probably would Portkey back every now and then to check on the restaurant during their vacation.

There were two Portkeys to Japan, Takeshi explained. The one that the human wizards used was a scroll in the Sakura that led to the land surrounding Professor Kamiyama's temple. The other was kept in a locked and warded room in the Kimuras' flat, because it led directly to the land of the crane folk, and only someone who possessed crane blood was able to use it.

"So you'll have to hold my hand while I touch the Portkey, as if you were Apparating with me," Takeshi told Aric. "My mother and father will do the same."

The Portkey turned out to be a silk robe hanging on the wall. It had once been white, but was now yellowed with age. "It was the bridal robe of my ancestress, the crane maiden who married the human man who saved her," Haruko explained in a hushed, reverent voice. "It is woven from her own feathers, so it seems fitting that it eventually became the focus of the portal that allows her descendants to return to the land of her birth."

"My brother will weave my feathers into such a robe for you," Takeshi said tenderly, then smiled. "Well, not a bridal robe, precisely, but a gift to symbolize my love for you and seal the bond between us."

"Thank you," Aric said, blushing as his in-laws smiled affectionately at him; he still wasn't used to how open Takeshi was around them. But he took Takeshi's outstretched hand, and Takeshi touched the robe with his free hand. There was the brief disorienting and dizzying feeling one got from being Apparated, and then Aric found himself standing in a lush green valley surrounded on all sides by steep mountains that seemed to enclose the valley like a fortress wall. Haruko and Isamu joined them a moment a later.

Aric voiced his thought out loud, and Takeshi told him that his mental analogy was quite apt. "The crane folk deliberately chose this valley for their home because it is so easy to defend. The steep cliffs are difficult for intruders to scale, and there are powerful enchantments laid on the valley. There are permanent misdirection and illusion spells that cause humans to turn away if they wander too close, and even if a Muggle plane should fly overhead, the pilots will only see a barren, rocky wasteland. And there are defensive spells to deter hostile wizards. 

"The crane clan has lived here in peace and seclusion for nearly a thousand years. No outsider may enter the valley without the consent of the clan. Human spouses are considered part of the clan by marriage and are allowed to come and go with their mates, of course, and members of the Wizards' Council and diplomats from other clans are occasionally given dispensation when they are carrying out a particular mission. But the wedding between Chizuru and Karasu is the first time in our history that outsiders will be welcomed into the valley en masse."

There was a large lake in the center of the valley, and Aric could see dwellings built on the valley floor, as well as others built into the mountain walls overlooking the valley. "Are there real cranes nesting in these mountains?" Aric asked curiously.

"No, cranes don't normally live in the mountains," Takeshi replied. "They normally live in marshes where they can forage for food--mostly insects, fish, amphibians, and small rodents. Also grain and rice when they can find it. My ancestors only moved to this valley for security purposes, to avoid being captured or hunted by humans."

"Come," Haruko said, leading the way to one of the buildings on the valley floor. "There are guest quarters available to those of clan who choose to live outside the valley; this one has been set aside for our use. Even if some of the pureblooded cranes might frown upon those of us with human blood, their loyalty to the clan is absolute, and they would never turn us away. Anyone with even a drop of crane blood has the right to reside in the valley if they wish."  "And their mates?" Aric asked, not feeling entirely confident about all this. It was beginning to remind him a little too much of his old life in England, living as one of the pureblood elite--except that this time, he was the one who was scorned for having impure blood. Maybe this was his punishment for all the casual, unthinking insults he had uttered about Mudbloods and half-bloods when he had still been a pureblood himself.

"And their mates," Haruko replied, with a reassuring smile. 

Takeshi reminded Aric to take his shoes off before entering the house, as was the Japanese custom. "It doesn't really matter here, where it's just us, but--"

"I know," Aric sighed. "Your purebloods are big on tradition, just like the ones back home, and I wouldn't want to commit a breach of etiquette." He smiled wryly, thinking how ironic it was that the purebloods back home looked down their noses at the non-humans, while here in Japan, the pureblooded cranes regarded the humans as inferior. It might be kind of fun to lock both sets of snobs in a small room together and watch the feathers fly--both literally and figuratively.

But taking off his shoes wasn't really a big deal; he'd already gotten into the habit of doing it at home because Takeshi did. He looked around the house--more of a cottage, really--with interest. It was constructed with sliding doors instead of hinged ones, to save space, Takeshi said. It was sparsely furnished, with low tables and cushions, but no chairs--and no beds, either, which puzzled Aric, until Takeshi showed him that the beddings were kept rolled up and stored in a closet when not in use, again to save space.

"Very efficient," Aric said, eyeing the rolled-up futon mattresses a bit dubiously. "I guess it will sort of be like camping out."

"They're more comfortable than they look," Takeshi assured him with a smile.

"It doesn't matter," Aric purred, nuzzling his mate's neck. "I don't intend to spend a lot of time sleeping in them, if you know what I mean." Takeshi giggled, and Aric frowned as he looked around the room more closely. "You know, these walls seem kind of thin, and your parents' room is right down the hall..."

"That's what silence spells are for, my love," Takeshi laughed. "But not now," he added, gently but firmly pushing away Aric's hands as they started to wander across his body. "We need to get unpacked, and then we'll visit my brother."

"Oh, very well," Aric sighed regretfully.

After they had finished unpacking, Takeshi said, "The Weavers' Hall is located high up on the mountain, and there aren't any footpaths leading there." He smiled. "Most of the crane folk simply fly up and down, you see. So I'll Apparate us over."

They appeared in a large room filled with people weaving on looms, or sitting on the floor embroidering lengths of bright silk. They were all dressed in kimonos that were, for the most part, more subdued in color and less ornate than silks they were weaving and embroidering. One man, who was clad in an indigo kimono patterned with a white feather design, rose from his seat and smiled at them warmly; he was a little taller than Takeshi, and his silky black hair was shorter, pulled back in a shoulder-length ponytail, but there was a strong family resemblance between them. And a moment later, Aric's guess was confirmed when Takeshi said, "Oniisan!" and hurried forward to hug his brother.

Ichiro hugged his brother back, saying, "It's good to see you, Takeshi." Then he turned to Aric and said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "And this must be your wolf."

Aric flushed a little, bowed, and said, "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Oniisan." Takeshi had told him that he should address Ichiro as "Oniisan," or "older brother," in the same way that he called Haruko and Isamu "Okaasan" and "Otoosan".

"Oh, you can just call me 'Ichiro' if you like," his brother-in-law said casually, patting Aric on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "There's no need to stand on ceremony with your family." he smiled ruefully. "I'm afraid that you'll get enough of that from the rest of the clan."

Two little girls, about four years old, came running over and flung their arms around Takeshi, shouting, "Takeshi-niisan!" They had black hair, brown eyes, and fair skin, like Takeshi and Ichiro, and looked adorable in matching flowered kimonos. An incredibly beautiful woman with ankle-length black hair tied back in a long tail set aside the cloth she was embroidering, rose to her feet, and glided towards them with an almost unearthly grace, and Aric realized that he must be looking at a pureblooded crane maiden. 

"This is my wife, Kaori," Ichiro said, and the lovely crane woman bowed gracefully. "And these are our daughters, Kumi and Shoko." He added, somewhat unnecessarily, "They're twins."

The two little girls stared at Aric with wide, curious eyes, and Takeshi smiled and said, "This is my mate, Aric."

"Have you forgotten your manners?" Kaori gently chided. "Greet our guest properly, Kumi-chan, Shoko-chan."

In almost perfect unison, the girls bowed and recited what was obviously a carefully rehearsed speech: "Welcome to our home, Aric-niisan. We are very happy to meet you." 

"'Niisan'?" Aric echoed, giving Takeshi a puzzled look.

"There's a word for 'uncle' in Japanese, but it usually refers to a middle-aged man," Takeshi explained. "So children in Japan usually address older-but-still-young relatives and family friends as 'Big Brother' or 'Big Sister'."

With the formalities out of the way, the girls started asking Aric eager questions, reminding him of the cubs in his werewolf pack. "How did you meet Takeshi-niisan? What's England like? Are you really an oukami-san?"

"Okami-san?" Aric asked Takeshi with a confused smile. "Isn't that your mother?"

Takeshi smiled and the girls giggled. "No, my mother is the Okami-san, or Proprietress, while an oukami is a wolf." He stressed and held the "ou" a little more than he did the "O" in "Okami". 

"Wolf," the girls chorused, looking pleased to learn a new word.

"Yes, I'm a wolf," Aric told them. "Well, technically I'm a werewolf, so I only turn into a wolf once a month, on the night of the full moon."

"A wolf!" Kumi (or was it Shoko?) said, clapping her hands together delightedly. The second twin said, "We've never seen a wolf before!"

"They're not the least bit afraid of me," Aric observed, feeling a little bemused. 

"There are very few lycanthropes in Japan," Ichiro explained with a smile. "There is a small pack of werewolves that lives in the mountains behind Kamiyama-sensei's temple, but they keep to themselves and bother no one. So our children have never been raised with the fear of werewolves that the British children have. And of course our children, being cranes themselves, are used to the idea of shapeshifters."

"I have a favor to ask of you, Niisan," Takeshi said. "When you have the time, I would like you to weave a robe for Aric from my feathers."

"Ah, a lover's token?" Ichiro asked, smiling knowingly, and Aric's face turned bright red. Ichiro laughed gently and said, "Of course, I would be honored to weave a robe for my new brother, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until after the wedding."

"Of course," Takeshi said. "There's no rush." He explained to Aric, "Ichiro and Kaori are weaving the robes for the wedding party. It's a very great honor."

"I hope that we're not keeping you from your work," Aric said politely.

"The robes are nearly completed," Ichiro assured him. "There is just a little embroidery left to be done, and we must be ready to make any needed last-minute alterations after the final fittings. Would you like to take a look at them?"

"Of course," Aric replied, curious to see his brother-in-law's handiwork, after all the stories Takeshi had told him about the crane folk weaving feathers into silk.

There were several robes hanging displayed on the walls; Ichiro pointed to one made of white silk. "This is the bride's underrobe, or kakeshita," he explained. The robe looked plain and simple at first glance, but the silk seemed to have an odd texture to it, and when Aric looked closer, he saw that a design of cranes in flight had been embroidered on it with white thread. It was beautiful, in a very subtle way, and almost impossible to see unless you were standing very close to it.

"And this is the bridal robe, the uchikake, which is worn over the kakeshita," Ichiro said, gesturing towards another robe. Aric gasped when he saw it, and his brother-in-law smiled proudly at his reaction. It was a magnificent robe of crimson silk, with long, wide, wing-like sleeves, and a long, flowing train. It was embroidered with an intricate design of cranes and crows and flowers so lifelike that it almost seemed as if the birds might fly right up out of the silk. Even the most expensive formal dress robes that Madam Malkin's had to offer could not compare to the quality of the uchikake, and Aric said so.

The weavers all looked very pleased by his compliment. "Thank you," Ichiro said. "We have been laboring on it for several months, ever since the betrothal was formalized. It usually does not take so long to weave a kimono, but as this is for our princess, every detail must be perfect."

"Was it woven from feathers?" Aric asked.

"Yes, from the princess's own feathers," Ichiro replied, then pointed to the embroidered crows. "Except for these. I made the black thread for the crows from Karasu-sama's feathers." He smiled. "The thread is coarser than the silk spun from crane feathers, but it is strong and sturdy, not unlike Karasu himself."

"Very symbolic," Aric said, grinning. "Bride and groom are joined together in the robe, as their lives will soon be joined in matrimony. The girls at Hogwarts would find it incredibly romantic."

"As an incurable romantic myself, I agree," Takeshi laughed. "It's a nice touch, Niisan."

"A very nice touch," a melodious female voice said. 

"Ohime-sama!" Takeshi exclaimed, and Aric turned around to see a woman walking into the room. Only she moved with such grace that it seemed more like she was gliding, her feet barely touching the ground. She wore a white silk kimono with black trim on the sleeves and hem, mimicking the coloring of a crane's feathers. Her black ankle-length hair had the same smooth, silky sheen to it as Takeshi's and Kaori's, and it was tied off at the waist with a length of gold cord that had been fashioned into an elegant, decorative knot, causing her hair to fan out across her shoulders like a thin shawl of black silk. He would not have thought such a thing possible a few minutes ago, but she was even more beautiful than Kaori, which meant that she was as lovely as a goddess. 

There was no way that anyone would ever mistake this woman for a normal human, and Aric was beginning to understand why some of the pureblooded cranes were so haughty and prejudiced, since they were obviously superior--at least in terms of physical beauty--to humans. He had to admit that to the eyes of an unbiased outsider, Takeshi would probably look ordinary, even homely, standing next to Kaori and the newcomer, who was presumably Princess Chizuru. 

Of course no one, not even a princess or goddess, was more beautiful than Takeshi to Aric, but still, the sheer beauty of the princess left him slack-jawed and dumbfounded for a moment before he noticed that everyone else in the room, even the two little twins, were bowing very low. He hastily followed suit, murmuring, "Your Highness."

"Oh, please don't do that," Chizuru said, sounding very embarrassed. "I get enough of that at court. Please, raise your heads." Aric straightened up to see the weavers, except for Ichiro and Kaori, smiling and returning to their work, as if this was a common occurrence. Meanwhile, Chizuru was gently scolding Takeshi, "You know that you don't need to bow to me like that, Takeshi-san. I used to sit in your parents' restaurant and enjoy the food there like any other customer, and you would call me 'Professor,' not 'Princess'."

Takeshi smiled at her kindly and pointed out, "But you were a Professor there, while here you are a princess, Chizuru-hime. You know that the...ah...less enlightened members of the clan would complain loudly of my uncouth manners if I treated you with less than proper respect. I do not really care what they think of me, but it would reflect badly upon my brother, who must live and work within the clan."

Chizuru sighed and said wistfully, "Sometimes I miss being at Hogwarts, where I was only 'Professor Chizuru' and no one knew that I was a princess. It's a little better at Mahou Gakkou, but even there, everyone knows who I am, and some of the students treat me with more deference than I'd like. At Hogwarts I could be just an ordinary person..."

Aric grinned and said, "I don't wish to contradict you, Princess--or if you prefer, Professor--but even at Hogwarts, no one thought you were ordinary. I wasn't there while you were teaching, but my classmates still talk about you. The boys sigh dreamily and talk about how beautiful you were, and the girls sigh and say they wish they could be as lovely and graceful as you."

Chizuru sighed again, and Ichiro smiled sympathetically at her, but said, "I understand how you feel, Chizuru-hime, but the truth is that you are a princess, whether you wish it or not. And as a princess, you have the opportunity to change the clan for the better--for example, by improving our relations with the tengu clan."

"As always, you remind me of my duty, Ichiro-san," Chizuru said, smiling at him ruefully, but not seeming offended by his gentle lecture. She turned to Aric and said, "And this must be Takeshi's mate."

Aric blushed; it was still a little weird to hear himself being called "Takeshi's mate," but so far everyone in the crane clan seemed to be taking it in stride. Of course, he hadn't met the stuck-up purebloods yet, but Aric figured that they couldn't be any worse than his own family.

"This is my mate, Aric Dietrich," Takeshi confirmed. "He belongs to the werewolf pack led by the man you knew as Lukas Bleddri, who has assumed his rightful identity as Cyril Diggory, head of the Diggory clan. Aric, this is Chizuru, a teacher at Mahou Gakkou, the Japanese school of magic; a former Professor at Hogwarts; and princess of the crane clan."

Aric bowed and murmured a polite greeting in Japanese. He had memorized a few phrases of greeting, apology, and thanks, but there had not been time for Takeshi to teach him much else--aside from the impromptu lessons in bed, which Aric doubted he could use in polite everyday conversation, at least not without ruffling a few of the cranes' feathers!

"Welcome to the clan, Aric-san," Chizuru said, smiling at him warmly. She must have noticed the surprise in Aric's face at her words, because she explained, "Even if you have no crane blood, you are mated to one of us, so you are part of the clan. Although they might grumble about it a little, even the most close-minded members of the clan will not dispute that you have a place among us."

"Th-thank you," Aric stammered, touched by her words, although at the same time he felt a pang of sorrow at the contrast between the werewolves and the cranes, who had accepted him so easily, and his true blood relatives, who had just as easily cast him aside. But then Takeshi smiled at him tenderly, and Aric reached out to clasp his lover's hand, and found comfort in the touch of his mate as Takeshi's fingers closed around his.

It turned out that Chizuru had come to have her wedding robes fitted, or rather, had used that as an excuse to slip away from the exhausting wedding preparations and her etiquette-conscious relatives for a little while. So Aric and Takeshi went back to the guest house, leaving Ichiro and Kaori to their work, and took the twins with them, to visit with their grandparents and keep them out of the way while their parents worked on the wedding robes.

Aric had gained some experience in baby-sitting small children through the cubs in the werewolf pack, and they were able to keep Shoko and Kumi sufficiently entertained. They loved piggyback rides just as much as Max and Lyra and Lance did, and they shrieked with laughter as Aric chased them around the house, barking and growling like a wolf. He was having almost as much fun as the kids, but it was a rather strange experience for Aric. The werewolves had been hailed as heroes after the war ended, but the actions of the rogue Auror Williamson had proven that the old fear still lingered just below the surface; it had taken only a couple of staged attacks and a few insinuations to awaken the old hostilities and prejudices. Aric wondered if things would ever reach the point where children in Britain would ever think it was fun to be chased by a werewolf. 

When Aric was worn out, Isamu and Haruko distracted the twins by serving them a snack, and Takeshi gave them some presents he'd brought them from England. They tried some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, making comical faces when they bit into one of the unpleasant flavors, like liver or booger. Takeshi also gave them some hairpins and ribbons that they seemed quite pleased with, but the gift that they liked the most was a deck of Exploding Snap cards. 

So they all spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards, which was fine with Aric since it allowed him to rest and recover from chasing the twins around the house. Aric and Takeshi won most of the games, but that might have been because the girls seemed to be losing on purpose because they liked watching the cards explode.

Ichiro and Kaori came over for dinner, and Aric mostly listened as the family chatted and got each other caught up on things that had been happening in England and Japan. They carried on the conversation in English, presumably for Aric's sake, and Aric asked if everyone in the clan could speak English, which seemed a little odd to him since they were so isolated.

"No, not everyone," Ichiro replied. "I do, because I lived in England for awhile, of course, and so do those of us who deal with the outside world, such as Chizuru, who works at Mahou Gakkou; and my uncle Yokuto, who is the crane representative to the Wizards' Council."

"Ichiro travels outside of the valley as well," Kaori added. "He conducts business in the human world on behalf of the clan, selling the silk that we weave and using the money to buy the things that the clan cannot grow or make ourselves. Mostly we are self-sufficient: we fish from the lake, and grow our own rice and vegetables, but there are still some supplies that we must buy from the outside world."

"Let the one with human blood deal with the humans, seems to be the clan's philosophy," Ichiro said with a grin. "It allows me to get out into the Muggle world, which is a relief, since life in the valley, while pleasant for the most part, can be a bit confining at times. I keep an office in town to conduct business in--"

"And to play with his ippanjin toys," Kaori added, looking amused.

"Oh, that's right!" Aric said. "Ash mentioned once that Takeshi's brother sends him video games from Japan."

Ichiro smiled sheepishly. "Yes, but please don't tell the clan elders that. Most of them frown upon Muggle technology. They are rather like the old pureblood families in England, very much bound by tradition."

"The young people are growing restless, though," Kaori said. "They wish to follow Chizuru-hime's example and venture outside of the valley, maybe even travel to other countries, which I think is a good thing. So some of them have started learning English and other languages, like French or German--against their parents' wishes, for the most part. So you will find that many of the younger cranes can speak a little English."

"And English has permeated the language of the Muggles, what we call the ippanjin, in Japan, so most of the human wizards can speak and read a little English, although they might not be fluent," Ichiro continued. "There's an elective class in English at Mahou Gakkou, to aid those who wish to study the Western forms of magic. You'll find plenty of people able to converse with you during your stay here, Aric."

"And I'll work hard to learn Japanese, too," Aric said. "Takeshi's been teaching me."

"Oh yes," Takeshi said dryly. "He's been a very enthusiastic student."

If they'd been back in England, Aric would have kicked his lover under the table. As it was, they were sitting on the floor Japanese-style around a low table, so he settled for giving Takeshi an "I'll get you for that later" look, then turned back to Ichiro and said, "I speak German and Russian, because those are the languages used at Durmstrang, where I used to go to school. But most of the British wizards can't speak anything but English, and Professor Lupin says that maybe Hogwarts should start teaching foreign languages, to promote better understanding and friendship throughout the wizarding world."

"A very good idea," Ichiro said, nodding approvingly.

After dessert, Ichiro and his family bid them goodnight and returned to their own home. Haruko cleared the dishes off the table; Takeshi and Aric offered to help, but she smiled at them in an indulgent, motherly fashion, and said, "It's kind of you to offer, but I can manage. Why don't the two of you go take a bath while your father and I clean up?"

So they showered and had a brief soak in the tub, but for once, bathing didn't lead to sex, because Aric was mindful of the fact that his in-laws were in the house, and would be waiting to use the bath after them. He couldn't help becoming aroused at the sight of his mate's body, though, which left him feeling edgy and frustrated as they got ready for bed. It didn't help that Takeshi donned a light cotton kimono that he called a "yukata" instead of pajamas. He belted it loosely around his waist, and it kept falling open, revealing tantalizing glimpses of bare chest and legs, which somehow excited Aric even more than simply seeing him nude.

He helped Takeshi take the beddings out of the closet and unroll the futon mattresses on the floor. Then Takeshi sat cross-legged on one mattress, humming to himself as he combed out his long hair. His yukata fell open just enough to offer a glimpse of his bare, white thighs.

"You are such a tease, 'Keshi," Aric said accusingly.

"Why, whatever do you mean, Aric?" Takeshi asked with a look of wide-eyed innocence that might have fooled Aric if he hadn't known his lover so well.

"You know exactly what I mean," Aric replied firmly. He reached out and slipped one hand beneath the kimono, sliding his fingers along Takeshi's chest until they encountered a nipple, then gently caressed and teased it into hardness as Takeshi gasped. Aric's other hand pushed the folds of the yukata away from Takeshi's lap and began stroking his thigh. Takeshi moaned, and the comb fell from his fingers and dropped to the mattress, forgotten.

"Aric," Takeshi whispered in a husky voice. 

"Just remember, you started this," Aric murmured into Takeshi's ear, then began nuzzling his neck. Takeshi moaned again, a little more loudly, as Aric's hand began moving more purposefully on his thigh, sliding up towards his crotch. "Shh," Aric said. "Don't forget that your parents are in the kitchen." He paused to listen with his keen werewolf hearing, then corrected himself, "Actually, it sounds like your dad is heading to the bath."

"Silence spell," Takeshi groaned urgently.

Aric complied promptly, casting the spell with a quick flick of his wand. His embarrassment and nervousness about having sex under the same roof as his in-laws were rapidly fading as the wolf's hunger asserted itself. With a sharp tug, he yanked away the loosely-knotted belt from Takeshi's waist, causing the yukata to fall open. Aric pounced on his mate, and Takeshi laughed as he fell back onto the mattress, then suddenly yelped in pain.

"Are you okay?" Aric asked, and Takeshi smiled sheepishly, and rubbed his calf as he picked up the forgotten comb and carefully laid it aside. Aric examined his mate's leg; there were small indentations where the tines of the comb had dug into his flesh, but they had not broken the skin. Aric kissed the wound anyway, gently running his tongue across it in a soothing manner, and Takeshi sighed and lay back down on the futon, spreading his legs apart to allow Aric to continue kissing his way up Takeshi's leg, moving from calf to thigh. Aric couldn't resist nipping at the soft flesh on the inside of Takeshi's thighs; he was trying to be gentle, but perhaps bit a little more sharply than he'd intended, because light bruises began to form on his mate's fair skin. But before he could feel too guilty, Takeshi moaned loudly, the desire evident in his voice and in his brown eyes as he stared up at Aric imploringly.

His mate's desire for him was headier than any drug. Aric quickly stripped off his pajamas and used his wand to summon the jar of mint-scented cream to his hand. Before he could apply it to himself, Takeshi took the jar from him and whispered, "Let me." His hands, always so nimble and efficient when treating a patient, expertly stroked Aric, who was already half-hard, into a full erection, spreading the cool, soothing cream against his hot, aching flesh. Aric groaned, thinking to himself that Paul and Ash and all of Takeshi's other ex-boyfriends must have been insane to let him go. Then he growled possessively and bared his teeth, but Takeshi did not look frightened; in fact, if anything, he looked even more excited. "Mine!" Aric said fiercely. 

"Yours," Takeshi whispered, tilting his head back and exposing his throat in submission. "I am yours, my wolf."

Aric bit down on his mate's throat, and Takeshi moaned again, the sound causing Aric to go nearly dizzy with lust. The wolf wanted to claim its mate right now, but Aric forced himself to wait, and reached for the jar of cream, dipping his fingers into it. His inner wolf growled impatiently, but subsided for the moment; wolf and man were both in agreement that they would never do anything to harm their mate.

He pushed one finger and then another into Takeshi, who raised his hips, pushing into Aric's touch as he moaned urgently. It seemed that his mate was nearly as impatient with hunger as he was, because his body seemed to open up eagerly to Aric. "Please please please," Takeshi whimpered, writhing on the mattress in a most delightful and delicious manner.

That whimpering noise was driving Aric mad with desire. He hadn't spent very long preparing his mate, but Takeshi certainly seemed eager enough, and the wolf couldn't wait any longer. He pulled his hand away and knelt between Takeshi's legs, but then Takeshi rolled over onto his hands and knees.

"I want you...to take me like a wolf," he panted, sounding out of breath, as if he'd been running. He turned his head slightly to look back at Aric, his brown eyes glazed with lust.

Aric growled happily; he enjoyed making love to Takeshi slowly and tenderly as a man, but he also loved it that Takeshi desired the wolf in him as well. He wasn't afraid of the beast, or even simply tolerant of it, but was unabashedly excited by it, and that never failed to excite Aric in turn.

So he grabbed Takeshi's hips and slammed into him with a deep, hard thrust, surrendering himself completely to the wolf without fear. He snarled and growled, pounding furiously into his mate, without any gentleness, knowing that in this instance, none was required. He delighted in his mate's loud cries of pleasure, and in the way that his body eagerly pushed back against Aric's, urging him on. Takeshi's cries soon began to take on a note of urgency and frustration beneath the desire. They both knew from experience that Takeshi couldn't lift his hands from the mattress without losing his balance, and Aric knew what his mate wanted of him. He ignored the cries for a little while, teasing his mate to whet both their appetites, then reached below him with one hand to grasp Takeshi's erection, his fingers still slippery from the cream sliding easily up and down the hard length of flesh.

Takeshi was crying out in Japanese, but Aric was too consumed by his inner wolf to put his recent language lessons to use. But it didn't really matter, because Takeshi's body communicated its need and desire quite eloquently to the wolf. Aric moaned, leaning forward to press his chest against Takeshi's back, suddenly wanting more contact with his mate, to feel the sensation of his skin against Takeshi's. He inhaled, drinking in the scent of his mate, and let his tongue dart out to lick a few droplets of sweat off Takeshi's skin, savoring the salty taste. Takeshi shuddered, then tilted his head forward slightly in what seemed to be an invitation, his black hair falling away to expose the nape of his neck. The wolf didn't need to be asked twice; Aric immediately snarled and sank his teeth into the exposed flesh, and Takeshi cried out as he came, his body convulsing with pleasure. Aric thrust hard into his mate a couple more times, and then he threw back his head and howled joyfully, the sound echoing off the walls as a wave of ecstasy washed over his body.

The collapsed onto the mattress, trembling in each other's arms, and when Aric's mind had cleared enough to begin forming coherent thoughts, he said a bit sheepishly, "I really hope that silence spell was working." There was no reason why it shouldn't be, but the walls in the house were very thin, and he was suddenly once again conscious of the fact that they were living in very close quarters with Takeshi's parents.

Takeshi giggled. "If it wasn't, then I'm sure we'd know it, because the entire valley would be in an uproar, thinking that they were being invaded by rampaging werewolves."

"You weren't exactly being quiet yourself, my lovely crane," Aric pointed out as he nuzzled his mate's neck.

"I blame it all on you," Takeshi said, sighing contentedly as Aric soothed the bite mark on the back of his neck with gentle kisses.

"Do you want to take a bath?" Aric asked with a mischievous grin. "I mean, we are all sweaty and sticky, after all."

"I don't think I can move," Takeshi groaned, and Aric chuckled, a low, wicked sound. 

"Have I worn you out already, my love?"

"Yes," Takeshi replied sleepily. "But there's always tomorrow."

Lust gave way to a sense of profound tenderness as Aric gazed at his mate, who looked so beautiful and vulnerable with his eyes half closed, his long hair falling loose across his face and shoulders. "Sleep well, 'Keshi," Aric whispered, and gently kissed his lover.

"Aishiteru," Takeshi whispered, snuggling closer against Aric's chest. He smiled and his eyes closed fully, and he seemed to be fast asleep a second later.

"I love you, too," Aric whispered. He was tired, but he stayed awake a little longer, savoring the musky scent of their lovemaking and the warmth of his mate's body resting in his arms, until he could no longer keep his eyes open and he slipped into slumber as well.

*** 

Time passed quickly and pleasantly during Aric's first week in Japan. He met a few of Takeshi's crane friends and relatives, but everyone in the clan seemed to be busy getting ready for the wedding of their princess, so Aric and Takeshi were left to their own devices for the most part, which suited Aric just fine.

Takeshi's little nieces came over to visit every day, and Ichiro and Kaori stopped by for dinner a few more times, but Aric met Ichiro's in-laws, the Head Weaver Shiori and her husband Ozora, only once that week. Takeshi assured him that was not a slight on their part, as the weavers were all busy working on the wedding party's robes, and on top of that, Shiori was related to the royal family, and so had a major role in the wedding preparations. But they did show up to pay their respects to their son-in-law's family one afternoon, making polite small talk over tea. 

Aric didn't really talk much with them, as Shiori and Ozora spoke almost no English, and Aric wasn't up to conversing in Japanese yet, so any comments directed between them had to be translated by Takeshi or one of the other Kimuras. But they did greet him politely, with pleasant smiles, and Aric didn't sense any hidden scorn or disapproval. Shiori was lovely, as all the crane people seemed to be, but compared to Chizuru's ethereal beauty and contrasting down-to-earth manner, the Head Weaver possessed an air of regal, stately grace. In some ways, she behaved more like a princess than Chizuru did--not arrogant like the pureblood elite in England, but she spoke slowly and seriously, as if choosing her words with great care. 

Her husband Ozora seemed a little shy and timid, which was how most of the crane folk--particularly the older ones--were around outsiders, Takeshi informed Aric later. But Ichiro's father-in-law seemed to warm to Aric when Takeshi told him that Aric had a talent for potion-brewing. It seemed that Ozora was an herbalist, who brewed dyes for the weavers' silks and medicines for the entire clan. Some of the beautiful colors and designs for the silks were created with magic, but Ozora prided himself on being able to create exquisite colors through natural means.

"It is a craftsman's pride," Takeshi said with a smile, translating for the elder crane. So Aric and Ozora had a pleasant if slightly awkward chat about herbs, using Takeshi as an intermediary.

Aric also met Takeshi's "Uncle" Yokuto, although it turned out that he wasn't actually Haruko's brother, and the blood relationship was several degrees removed. It seemed that Yokuto's many-times-over great-grandmother had been the sister of Takeshi's ancestress, the crane maiden who had married her human savior, and the families still remained closely bound together even several hundred years later.

"Clan means everything to the cranes," Takeshi explained. "They never forget or forsake their kin. And Yokuto-oji's son Tsubasa is my favorite cousin. He isn't here right now; he's been living with the tengu for the past several years, but you'll meet him at the wedding."

Yokuto was extraordinarily handsome, as all the crane folk were, but there was a careworn look about him that Aric had not seen on any of the other cranes he had encountered. His hair was long and silky, but there were streaks of white among the black, and there were lines on his face that somehow reminded Aric of Sirius Black's handsome but ravaged face. He had a kind smile, though, and was more friendly and less reserved than the other crane folk. Yokuto chatted pleasantly with Takeshi and Aric about their lives in England, seeming interested in Takeshi's work at St. Mungo's and the charity clinic, and about what things were like at Durmstrang and Hogwarts. 

He spoke excellent if slightly accented English, and explained that he took more of an interest in the outside world because he was the crane representative to the Wizards' Council, a kind of ambassador for the crane clan. He didn't actually say so, but Aric assumed that his fluent English was probably due to his wife, Reiko, who was pretty enough but quite obviously human, lacking the supernatural grace and beauty that even the part-blooded cranes seemed to possess. She spoke English with an American accent, and said that she had been born in the States and met Yokuto when she had been visiting relatives in Japan shortly after graduating from the Salem Witches' Institute.

"Your cousin is a half-blood, then?" Aric asked Takeshi after Yokuto and Reiko had left.

Takeshi shook his head. "No, my uncle's first wife was a pureblooded crane. She died when Tsubasa was very young, which is why Yokuto-oji looks so much older than my mother, although they're about the same age; his sorrow weighed on him very heavily and aged him beyond his years. As I told you before, many of the crane folk do not survive the loss of a mate. I was not yet born at the time, but I have heard that my uncle nearly died of his grief until he met Reiko, who comforted him and mended his broken heart, and became a mother to Tsubasa. The clan has never been quite sure what to make of her. They're grateful that she saved Yokuto's life, of course, but she is twice over an outsider--not just human, but a foreigner as well. The family moved to America for several years after Yokuto and Reiko married, and the conservative members of the clan resent her for taking Yokuto and Tsubasa so far away from home for so long." 

Takeshi smiled. "Fortunately, my aunt is a strong and determined woman, and she does not let the gossip and complaints and subtle insults bother her or sway her course of action. And Okaasan says that it was probably easier for Yokuto-oji to heal in his new home, where he wouldn't have to constantly face painful reminders of his first wife's death."

"So your cousin went to school in the States?" Aric asked.

Takeshi nodded. "Yes, which is probably why he's not as shy or standoffish as most of the other cranes." He smiled, looking amused. "I think that the two of you should get along quite well."

"What's so funny?" Aric asked suspiciously.

"You'll understand when you meet him," Takeshi replied. "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

*** 

Takeshi could be quite maddening when he wished, and refused to elaborate further. But Aric figured that his curiosity would be satisfied soon enough, and in the meantime there were plenty of diversions to keep him occupied. When they weren't baby-sitting the twins, Takeshi showed him around the valley. They went hiking up mountain paths; visited Ozora's herb gardens; went swimming in the lake (which contained no giant squids, Takeshi assured Aric with a grin) and had picnic lunches on the shore, or in a boat that they took out on the lake.

It seemed that boating on the lake was a popular activity for the young courting crane couples, and there were often numerous little boats on the lake, propelled by oars for those who didn't mind a little physical exertion, or by magic for those who did. The girls looked like flowers, dressed in light cotton kimonos in bright summery colors, with matching paper parasols to shield their pretty faces from the sun, and the boys were almost as lovely as the girls, although their kimonos tended to be a little less colorful and flowery. The whole scene was like something out of a fairy tale, and Aric felt like a wanderer who had accidentally stumbled into a marvelous enchanted realm.

And of course his lover was like something out a fairy tale himself. One day when they had gone out for a walk and a picnic lunch, Aric reminded Takeshi, "You promised to let me watch you transform again when we were among your people."

"That is true," Takeshi said with a smile, and he flung his arms out wide, and Aric felt his skin tingle as that familiar aura of magic swirled around Takeshi like a gust of wind, and his lover's body slowly melted into the form of a large crane. The bird took a running start, then launched itself into the air, beating its wings, and soon it was soaring high above Aric, gliding gracefully on the air currents. Aric watched from below, awestruck, admiring his mate's beauty and feeling a little envious of Takeshi's ability to fly. The crane swooped through the air in a joyous manner, as if exulting in its freedom.

Then the crane circled back, landed on the ground, folded its wings, and laid its head against Aric's chest. Aric gently stroked his mate, marveling at how smooth and silky the bird's feathers felt, just like Takeshi's hair. He was a little surprised to find that the red crown on the top of the crane's head was a patch of bare skin, not feathers as he had assumed. Aric tentatively stroked that patch of red skin, and Takeshi made a low purring noise that sounded like it should be coming from a cat instead of a bird; Aric gently placed a hand on the crane's long, elegant neck, feeling its throat vibrating from the purr.

And then Takeshi transformed again, and Aric found himself holding his human lover in his arms, his hand stroking long, silky hair instead of feathers or skin. "Mmm," Takeshi sighed, still purring a little. "That feels so good."

"You are so beautiful, 'Keshi," Aric whispered, and tilted Takeshi's face up with one hand so that he could kiss him.

"Come with me," Takeshi said, taking Aric by the hand. "I want to show you something." He led Aric to a large thicket growing at the foot of the mountains. A wooden post had been set into the ground just outside the thicket, and there was a wooden sign hanging from it by a loop of twine. Takeshi flipped the sign around so that the back was showing; there were Japanese characters written on both sides, but Aric couldn't read any of them.

"What does that say?" he asked.

"'Occupied,'" Takeshi purred, giving Aric a sultry look that made his knees suddenly go weak and wobbly. Takeshi murmured a charm, and the bushes drew aside to let them pass, then closed up behind them as they went by. 

Aric found himself inside a natural little alcove that curved into the mountainside, enclosed and shielded by the wall of dense greenery. There was a carpet of thick grass beneath his feet, and in the center of the alcove was a small pool that seemed to be fed by an underground spring; Aric could see the water bubbling up from below, and there was steam rising from the surface of the pool. He knelt down and cautiously lowered his hand into the water, then exclaimed, "It's warm!"

"It's a natural hot spring," Takeshi said smugly, and began undressing. Aric watched spellbound as he unfastened his robe and let it fall to the ground, then slipped out of his trousers and underpants, slowly sliding them over his hips and down his long legs. Takeshi's braid had already come unbound when he had transformed, and he stood before Aric naked, his glossy black hair cascading over his shoulders and contrasting beautifully with his fair skin. He stepped into the pool and slowly lowered himself into the water, then gave Aric an inviting smile and asked, "Well, what are you waiting for, my wolf?"

Aric snapped out of his daze and quickly shed his clothes and joined Takeshi in the pool. It was just big enough to hold two people without feeling cramped, and the water was pleasantly warm but not scorchingly hot as Takeshi usually seemed to prefer it ("the boiled lobster effect," as Aric called it). He pulled Takeshi into his arms, and the two of them relaxed and soaked contentedly for perhaps a good fifteen minutes before Aric's inner wolf started getting aroused. He kissed and caressed his mate until they were both trembling with desire, then they crawled out of the pool and made love on the grass beside it, Aric growling with pleasure as he thrust into his mate, who was writhing and moaning beneath him, his legs wrapped tightly around Aric's waist.

Aric now understood the reason for the "occupied" sign outside the thicket, and as he neared climax, suddenly remembered that they hadn't bothered to cast a silence spell. As usual, he bit his mate's throat as they both came, and although he couldn't stop himself from howling, he tried to muffle it by keeping his mouth clamped on Takeshi's neck.

Afterwards, Aric was growling happily, nuzzling his mate's neck, but Takeshi was frowning as he combed his fingers through his long hair, trying to pick bits of grass out of it. "Next time, remind me to conjure up a blanket beforehand," he grumbled. "Or better yet, a mattress; my back hurts. You know, making love outdoors sounds very romantic and sexy in a novel, but the reality leaves something to be desired."

Aric chuckled and kissed Takeshi. "I didn't hear you grumbling about it at the time," he teased.

"Yes, well, I was caught up in the heat of the moment," Takeshi said sheepishly, flushing a little. "And besides, the wolf seemed rather impatient." Then he sighed, "Oohh, that's better," as Aric began rubbing his back.

"I live to please you, my sweet crane," Aric said, planting a kiss on the nape of his mate's neck. A massage eased Takeshi's sore back, and Aric got rid of the grass in Takeshi's hair, as well as the grass stains on their bodies, with a quick cleaning spell. Then they got dressed and Aric combed out Takeshi's hair; ever practical, Takeshi had packed a jar of lubricant and his enchanted comb in the basket that held their picnic lunch. The only thing he had left out was the blanket, as they usually simply conjured up a temporary one, but this time they had been too impatient to bother with it.

"I guess I'll keep you around, then," Takeshi said, his eyes half-closed with pleasure as Aric combed his hair.

*** 

A couple of nights before the wedding, it was Aric's turn to transform. Professor Kamiyama had sent over bottles of the Wolfsbane Potion so that Takeshi wouldn't have to brew it, and Aric had dutifully taken his dosage every day for a week, although he still shuddered each time at the taste.

"You could Portkey back home to spend the night with the pack, if you like," Takeshi told him. "But you'd have to be careful to take the time difference between England and Japan into consideration and not come back too early, or you could wind up going through two full moons and two transformations. I'm not really sure what effect that would have on your body."

Aric winced; he didn't really mind being in wolf form, but his first transformation had been quite painful and frightening. Lupin and Lukas had assured him that it would be easier once he got used to it, but he still didn't want to go through it twice if he didn't have to. Besides, what if transforming twice in the same day had some weird effect, like freezing him in his wolf form? Aric didn't really think that would happen, but he didn't intend to play guinea pig and find out.

"No, I'll just stay here," Aric said hastily. "I'm sure I'll be fine, with you at my side." 

That must have been the right thing to say, because Takeshi smiled at him lovingly. "I'm glad that you trust me to be with you, my wolf," he said softly. 

Takeshi suggested that they spend the night outdoors, beneath the full moon. "Are you sure that's okay?" Aric asked anxiously. "I mean, the other cranes won't mind having a werewolf running around the valley at night?"

"Most everyone will be indoors at the time," Takeshi replied, looking cheerful and unconcerned. "They all know that you're a werewolf and that the full moon is coming up, and I've warned them not to be alarmed if they hear any howling."

So they had an early dinner and went out and sat beside the lake and waited for the moon to rise. Takeshi had brought a blanket this time, although they certainly weren't planning to do any lovemaking while Aric was in wolf form. They sat quietly together until the moon emerged, shining like a silver disc in the sky. Aric gasped as the pain began wracking his body, but since he knew what to expect this time, it wasn't as terrifying as it had been the first time that he transformed.

Takeshi stroked his back and murmured to him soothingly; overwhelmed by the transformation, Aric couldn't quite make out his words, but his tone of voice was what really mattered to the wolf, and Aric found it comforting. And then the transformation was over and Aric was in his wolf body, with Takeshi's fingers still stroking the fur on his back. Aric's sense of smell was keen in his human form, but as a wolf, everything seemed much more intense. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of the grass and the lake water and smoke from a cookfire coming from one of the nearby houses, and most of all, the scent of his mate, familiar and reassuring.

Aric felt Takeshi's hand gently touch his head. "Are you all right, Aric?" he asked, looking concerned. Aric barked and wagged his tail. "I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Takeshi said with a smile, and began scratching behind Aric's ears.

Oh Merlin, that felt good! His tail immediately started wagging without any conscious effort on Aric's part, and he found himself making ecstatic little noises that were halfway between a growl and a whine.

"Does that feel good?" Takeshi asked, grinning, and in reply Aric jumped up and began licking his face. Takeshi laughed and spluttered, "Aric, I love you too, but...argh...I could do with a little less slobber...watch out for my glasses!" Takeshi had to take off his glasses and wipe them on his robe, as they had been rendered blurry and useless by wolf slobber, and Aric laughed, although it came out as a series of barks, and wagged his tail.

"I know wolf laughter when I hear it," Takeshi said, pretending to glare at Aric as he put his glasses back on. He resumed petting and scratching Aric, which felt very good, but Aric found himself feeling strangely restless as he gazed up at the moon in the night sky. His legs twitched slightly, and Takeshi must have noticed, because he said, "Do you feel like running? Go on, I don't mind. In fact, perhaps I'll join you." And Takeshi rose to his feet, transformed into a crane, and took off flying.

Aric followed his mate, running across the valley as Takeshi flew above him, and he was filled with a sense of exultation. He howled joyously at the moon as he ran, and he suddenly realized that he was living out the dream he'd had the night that he moved in with Takeshi, when he had dreamt of running beneath the full moon as a white crane flew above him.

When he was finally exhausted, Aric made his way back to the blanket by the lake, and Takeshi flew down and resumed his human form. Aric flopped down and laid his head on his mate's lap, growling contentedly as Takeshi gently stroked his head.

"You are such a beautiful wolf, my love," Takeshi murmured. "Didn't I tell you that there was no need to fear being with me during the full moon?"

_Okay, so you were right as usual,_ Aric conceded, although it came as out as a low growl. He raised his head and licked Takeshi's face, and Takeshi planted a kiss on his furry snout.

"I love you, Aric," he said.

_I love you, too,_ Aric thought, licking his mate's face again and then settling back on his lap. He began to doze off, and was only half-aware of Takeshi taking out his wand and transforming the blanket into a plush mattress. He did whine a little when Takeshi gently pushed Aric's head off his lap, but then relaxed when Takeshi lay down and stretched out beside him. Aric laid his head on his mate's chest, and felt Takeshi drape an arm over his body. He closed his eyes, and as he drifted off to sleep, his last conscious thought was that perhaps the full moon was something to look forward to instead of fear or even simply tolerate.

*** 

Lupin was quite excited about their little trip to Japan, although he wasn't exactly sure why. He and Severus had visited Professor Kamiyama before, of course, but this would be the first time that they were going on a trip together since the war had ended. Maybe it was the feeling of freedom and security, knowing that they no longer had to hide their relationship or worry about the Death Eaters discovering that Severus was a spy. Maybe it was the joy of looking forward to seeing two of his friends--Chizuru and Karasu--get married, and the excitement of attending a royal wedding, although Lupin suspected that his friends would rather have eloped and done without all the pomp and ceremony.

Weddings always put Lupin in a sentimental, romantic mood, and he had decided to think of their stay in Japan not so much as a business trip but as a belated honeymoon. "Someday" had been Lupin's private mantra during the war: someday it would be safe for him and Severus to stop hiding their relationship; someday he would not have to sit around waiting with fear gnawing his stomach when Severus was summoned to a Death Eater meeting, wondering if Voldemort had discovered that he was a spy; someday after the war was over, the two of them would take some time to spend alone with each other, to make up for all the time that they'd been forced to stay apart. 

Lupin had vaguely thought that they might go off on a trip together, or perhaps simply lock themselves up in his cottage for a few months and make love all day long. It had been those wistful daydreams that had sustained Lupin during the years after Voldemort's return, that had kept him from giving up hope in those dark times when it seemed like they would never be free of the Dark Lord's shadow.

Of course, things rarely went as planned in life, and he and Severus had gone straight from fighting in the war to becoming parents after it ended, without any time off in-between to take that romantic trip or leisurely summer of lovemaking that Lupin had planned. But as it turned out, they had still found plenty of time for lovemaking, and Lupin did not regret taking in Dylan and Theo for one instant; his sons were an incredibly precious gift to him, particularly since he had resigned himself to never having children, not wanting to pass on his lycanthropy to a biological son or daughter, and knowing that a werewolf's chances of being allowed to adopt a child were extremely slim. 

Lupin loved his sons dearly, but he found that he was really looking forward to spending some time alone with his mate. He felt almost giddy, the way he had back when he and Severus had spent Christmas alone together at Hogwarts that magical winter during their fifth year, when they had first fallen in love, without any disapproving friends or housemates around to put a damper on things. That had come later...

But Lupin refused to dwell on unpleasant memories. He happily packed his suitcase while whistling a cheerful tune, and Severus said nothing, although he looked a bit puzzled about why Lupin should be so excited about a short trip to visit some old friends and colleagues.

Although Lupin was looking forward to his "honeymoon," he knew that he would miss Dylan and Theo, and even Selima and Vorcher and Cabal. They had to leave the dog behind because Professor Kamiyama's house was rather small, and it would be rude to bring a pet--especially such a large one--without permission. Besides, Severus wasn't sure how Cabal would react to the Kamiyama family--the Professor and his daughter were kitsune, fox shapeshifters, and the Professor's granddaughter Miyako was a werewolf. It was possible that Cabal would react hostilely to the scent of strange canines.

So Lupin reluctantly agreed to leave his pet behind. Cabal seemed perfectly content at Snape Manor, which eased Lupin's conscience a bit. He had expected Selima to object to the dog's presence, but she had accepted him without a single word of objection, partly because he had tried to protect Dylan when the Revenant had attacked him. So now the dog was a pampered house pet, with silver dishes for his food and water, his own rug beside the hearth in the drawing room, and a handsome black leather collar decorated with the Snape family crest in silver. He was allowed free run of the grounds, except for the flower gardens, and a doggie door had been added to the back entrance so that he could come and go as he pleased, although Lupin or Dylan usually took him out for a walk a couple of times a day, or played fetch with him on the lawn. 

To Lupin's relief, Cabal was perfectly well-behaved, and did not run in the house, piddle on the carpet, or break any of Selima's priceless antiques. He seemed to save all his energy for playing outside, and when he was in the house, he spent most of his time curled up contentedly on his rug by the hearth. If his family wasn't around, though, he would get lonely and seek them out, and then flop down on the floor at the feet of whomever was most convenient--usually Lupin, but sometimes Dylan, and occasionally Selima. 

He had learned not to get underfoot around Severus, though, after the time that the Potions Master had tripped over him, stepped on his tail, and uttered a few blistering (but fortunately only verbal and non-magical) curses. He wasn't precisely afraid of Severus, but he had developed a healthy respect for him, and while he would sometimes lie near the Potions Master, he was careful to pick a spot where he wouldn't be in the way.

Strangely enough, Cabal seemed to have taken a liking to Selima, and even though Lady Snape never seemed to favor him with any affection, he would often lie on the floor near her when she read in the drawing room or worked in the study.

"Maybe you're a peacock like Dylan," Lupin joked as he scratched behind Cabal's ears that night after dinner. "It was Lady Selima who gave you that handsome collar, after all." He and Severus were leaving for Japan the next day, and Vorcher had prepared a splendid farewell feast. Prospero had stopped by for dinner, ostensibly to cadge a free meal and say goodbye to Lupin, and they had all repaired to the drawing room after dinner, to chat over glasses of wine.

"Perhaps it is only that like all--well, most--males, he appreciates the company of beautiful women," Prospero said, with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.

Selima sniffed disdainfully. "More likely, it's simply that he knows which side his bread is buttered on, so to speak. He has quite a cushy life here at Snape Manor, one that more than a few human mongrels would envy, and I am sure he would not care to return to life as a homeless stray on the streets of London." She gave the dog a stern, intimidating look, and he barked once, as if in agreement, and wagged his tail.

"He's only a dog, Mother," Snape said sourly, although there was an undercurrent of amusement in his voice. "Aren't you overestimating his powers of comprehension?"

"Not really," Selima said coolly. "He is an intelligent animal, and he is certainly well-behaved--much more so than a few werewolves I could mention."

Lupin just chuckled good-naturedly, but Prospero said slyly, "Oh, I don't think that you're really all that averse to werewolves, Selima. You just had a party for Cyril, after all."

"While I admit that his manners normally leave something to be desired, Cyril can behave like a proper Lord when he puts his mind to it," Selima replied coolly.

"And I've noticed that you've started calling Remus by his first name instead of 'Professor' or 'the werewolf,'" Prospero continued.

"You are talking nonsense, Prospero," Selima said, giving him a puzzled frown.

"You addressed him as 'Remus' when we were organizing the search party to look for Lukas and Amos and Williamson after the Quidditch Cup match," Prospero reminded her. "And when we were planning our strategy for combating the Revenant."

"I did no such thing!" Selima protested indignantly.

Lupin searched through his memories and realized that Prospero was right. "You're right!" he exclaimed. "She did, but I was too distracted to notice it at the time!" He grinned widely at Selima, who flushed and glared at first him and then Prospero.

Dylan's eyes were sparkling with amusement, but he tactfully changed the subject, saying, "I really enjoyed your new book, Mr. Zabini. I hear that it's selling very well."

"Yes, it looks to be turning into one of my best sellers," Prospero said, beaming proudly. He turned to Lupin and said, "And I must thank you, Remus; it wouldn't have turned out nearly so well without your help." 

"It's a wonderful story!" Lupin said enthusiastically. "And it was a good idea to write a children's book, too. Of course your previous novels are popular with the older students at Hogwarts, but now the younger ones can read this book, too."

The main character of the book, which was titled "By the Light of the Moon," was a young man from a pureblood family who had to hide his lycanthropy from his classmates at school and from society in general. Along the way, he encountered adventure and romance--his love interest was female, though; Prospero had been afraid that a gay romance in a children's book would be too controversial, and he had wanted to avoid antagonizing Severus by making the story too similar to Lupin's and Snape's own life. Lupin had helped Prospero with his research, answering his questions about lycanthropy to make the details in the book more realistic. 

"Or rather, they can read this title openly, instead of hiding it from their parents and teachers," Dylan said with a grin. Prospero's other novels had some racy love scenes, making them off-limits to the younger students, who still managed to get hold of copies anyway--trying to prohibit the books probably just made them even more appealing.

"It's good timing that it happened to be released after Cyril and his pack were proven innocent of being involved in the 'werewolf' attacks," Prospero said. "Otherwise they would be languishing on the bookstore shelves or worse, turned into fuel for bonfires by the anti-werewolf faction. But now that Cyril has achieved such celebrity, people are eager to read a book about a werewolf hero." Prospero smiled smugly. "They're selling so quickly that the publisher is already planning a second printing."

"I'm sure that it will become a bestseller, Prospero," Lupin laughed.

"Thank you, Remus," Prospero replied. "And please don't worry about Cabal; I'll look in on him while you're gone." He reached down to pat the dog. "The two of us have become very good friends, haven't we, boy?"

That of course gave Prospero the perfect excuse to continue visiting Snape Manor, but Lupin pretended not to notice, and just grinned and said, "Thank you very much; that really sets my mind at ease." Lupin thought to himself with amusement that Prospero claimed to be a bad Slytherin, but that he had the very Slytherin knack of being able to turn an apparently altruistic act into something self-serving. Or perhaps it was the other way around--making a self-serving act seem altruistic. Either way, Lupin didn't mind; over the years, he had developed an appreciation for Slytherin deviousness and cunning.

"Well then, Severus, we can enjoy our honeymoon without any worries," Lupin said sweetly.

His lover glared at him and said, "First of all, I'm not worried about the damned dog. And second, this is a business trip, not a honeymoon. We're attending Chizuru's wedding as representatives of Hogwarts, and I will be conducting Potions research with Professor Kamiyama. Please don't go all maudlin on me, Lupin."

Lupin smiled sweetly and said, "Forgive me, Sev. I can't help it; I'm a Gryffindor." Then he leaned over and kissed Severus on the cheek as Dylan and Prospero laughed, and the Potions Master's glare turned positively murderous.

"Yes," Selima sighed wearily to no one in particular, "the dog is much better behaved than the werewolf." And Cabal barked happily and wagged his tail.

*** 

The tengu clan arrived the day after the full moon. Aric watched from the porch of the guest cottage with the Kimuras as the procession made its way through the valley to the palace of the crane King. Just about everyone in the valley had turned out to watch the procession--standing in front of their homes as Aric and the Kimuras were doing, or peeking out timidly from doorways and windows. There were also a number of crane folk watching from high up on the mountain walls, like a flock of exotic birds in their brightly-colored kimonos.

The tengu folk were quite handsome, but less delicately built than the graceful crane people. They looked strong and sturdy, and walked with a confident swagger, even the women. Their hair was jet-black like that of the cranes, but coarser and less silky; most of the tengu had it tied up in a topknot or ponytail, and only a few of them had hair longer than shoulder-length. Most of them of them wore kimonos that appeared to be made of cotton rather than silk, in bright, almost gaudy colors, and were obviously of a lesser quality than the beautiful robes that the crane weavers made. All of them carried weapons: swords tucked into their belts, or long spears and staves that they carried in their hands; even the children carried small daggers. But Aric noticed something odd, that the heads of the spears were wrapped in cloth, and that each dagger and sword had a cord wrapped and knotted around the hilt and scabbard.

"Those are peace bonds," Takeshi explained. "The tengu are warriors and never go anywhere without their weapons. But the crane folk frown upon violence and bloodshed, so to show their peaceful intentions, the tengu have covered their spear heads, and bound their swords and daggers to the scabbards, so that they cannot draw their weapons without warning. Not that anyone really expects the groom's party to make a surprise attack; it's mainly symbolic."

The procession was led by the bridegroom Karasu, a fierce-looking young man dressed a little more soberly than his companions in a black silk kimono and loose, skirt-like trousers that Takeshi said were called hakama. Over the first kimono and trousers, the tengu man wore a loose, thigh-length kimono coat ("A haori," Takeshi murmured to Aric), also made of black silk, and emblazoned in gold with what looked like a House or family crest: a sword crossed over a feather. The man wore his long black hair in a topknot, and he was very handsome except for his large, Snape-like nose. 

In fact, all of the tengu seemed to have rather pointed, beaky noses. But in the middle of the procession was one young man with a normal-sized nose and silky-looking black hair that was tied up in a topknot, the resulting tail of hair falling nearly to his waist. He wore a kimono of pale green silk and hakama trousers in a darker green, and he moved with the graceful, gliding gait of a crane instead of the tengu swagger.

"That's your cousin, isn't it?" Aric asked, pointing at the graceful young man in green.

"Yes, that is Tsubasa," Takeshi replied with a smile. "You're very observant, my love."

Aric suddenly noticed that Tsubasa had two swords tucked into the belt of his hakama--one long and one short, barely longer than a dagger. "Your cousin is a swordsman?" he asked excitedly. "Is that the surprise you didn't want to tell me?"

"Why else did you think he was living among the tengu?" Takeshi asked, looking amused. "I know that you studied about the tengu and other Japanese shapeshifters in your Interspecies Relations class at Hogwarts."

"The tengu are warriors," Aric said, remembering his lessons, although he had not really paid them much heed at the time.

"Not just warriors, but teachers of martial arts and strategy to those whom they deem worthy," Takeshi elaborated. "Such as the legendary Japanese hero Yoshitsune, who is said to have been trained by the tengu in his youth."

"And the crane folk are not warriors," Aric said. "So if your cousin wanted to learn swordsmanship, he'd have to leave the valley to do it. He went to study with the tengu?"

Takeshi nodded. "He has been living with them for about ten years. He is quite good, from what I understand, the equivalent of a Master in rank. He is one of the instructors who train the tengu children in swordsmanship, a responsibility given only to the best of their warriors."

"I wish I'd brought my rapier; I didn't think I'd get a chance to use it here," Aric said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Do you think that your cousin would spar with me?"

"I'm sure that he would be delighted to," Takeshi replied. "But be warned, Tsubasa is tengu-trained, and the tengu are said to be quite demanding and merciless instructors. You will likely receive more than a few bruises during a session with my cousin."

"I'm used to it," Aric laughed. "Lukas was always beating up on me in Physical Defense class, remember?"

"Lukas is an amateur swordsman compared to Tsubasa," Takeshi said, giving Aric a speculative look. "Although it would be interesting to see how skill and experience fare against werewolf strength and speed. I shall speak to my cousin later and see if he would be interested in a match."

"Thank you," Aric said. "It's not like I expect to beat your cousin, if he's as good as you say. But I'm sure that I could learn a lot from him. Lukas says that you learn something from every match you fight, even the ones you lose--or rather, especially the ones that you lose."

Takeshi smiled fondly at him. "You've changed a lot from the spoiled, arrogant boy who first came to serve detention at the clinic."

Aric flushed and complained, "Aw, you're never going to let me forget that we met when I was serving detention, are you?"

Takeshi laughed and his parents politely pretended that they couldn't overhear his and Aric's conversation even though they were standing just a few feet away. "But if Remus hadn't given you detention, we might never have met and fallen in love," Takeshi pointed out. "So we should be grateful for that detention."

"Yeah, I guess so," Aric muttered a bit grudgingly, still blushing. But when he thought about it, he realized that a complicated set of circumstances had led to him meeting Takeshi. If Rafe hadn't been killed by Thaddeus, Aric would never have left Durmstrang for Hogwarts in order to seek revenge on his cousin Theo, whom he had mistakenly blamed for their uncle's death. If he hadn't left Durmstrang, he wouldn't have been taking classes from Professor Lupin. And a less idealistic and eccentric teacher than Lupin would have given Aric a normal detention, like writing lines or scrubbing bedpans instead of forcing him to volunteer at the clinic. 

And Takeshi wouldn't have been working at the clinic if Dumbledore hadn't convinced the Ministry to start the Wolfsbane Potion Distribution Program in an effort to win the werewolves over to their side during the war. For that matter, if Takeshi's parents had not been farsighted enough to see that Voldemort was a potential threat to their country, they would never have left their home in Japan to come to England in order to help build an alliance between the two countries. If any of these factors had changed even slightly, Aric and Takeshi would never have crossed paths.

That thought frightened Aric, and he reached out and clasped Takeshi's hand tightly. Takeshi smiled at him, looking pleasantly surprised, since Aric was still a little shy about engaging in public displays of affection, even in the valley where everyone knew that they were mates.

"Remind me to thank Professor Lupin for giving me detention when we go back home," Aric said.

"You can thank him tomorrow," Takeshi said with a grin. "He'll be attending the wedding with Professor Snape, remember? I believe Professor Dumbledore is coming as well."

"Oh right," Aric said. "I forgot. Well...I'll thank him tomorrow, then." It would be a little embarrassing, but he supposed that he really did owe Lupin thanks for bringing him and Takeshi together.

"Ah, young love," Haruko murmured to her husband as she watched her son and his mate hold hands, completely wrapped up in each other and oblivious to everything else around them at the moment.

"Our courting days do not seem so long ago," Isamu replied gallantly, smiling at his wife. "It seems almost like yesterday that I met a beautiful young girl at Mahou Gakkou."

Haruko laughed. "I remember that you courted me by bringing me bento lunches every day."

"Ah well," Isamu said, smiling sheepishly. "I wasn't very handsome or a smooth talker, nor was I a great mage who could impress you with my magical skills. Cooking was my one true talent."

"You are a fine cook, my dear," Haruko said firmly. "And a fine husband and father." She laid her head on Isamu's shoulder, and he slipped an arm around her waist, and the two couples continued watching from the porch with quiet contentment as the procession passed by.

*** 

The rest of the wedding guests began arriving the following morning. Isamu's parents and brother joined them for breakfast, and although they were polite to Aric, he thought that he sensed disapproval from the elder Mr. and Mrs. Kimura. Isamu's brother Tsutomu was harder to read; he seemed quiet and serious, and said little while the others made polite small talk.

Isamu's father Masaru, thin and stern-looking in contrast to his plump and genial son, muttered something under his breath. Aric doubted that it was a compliment, because Isamu snapped, "Otoosan!"

"Otoosan, Aric cannot speak Japanese very well," Haruko said gently. "So it would be courteous to speak English for his sake."

"And if what you have to say is less than courteous, perhaps it would be better to leave it unsaid," Isamu said pointedly.

Aric smiled nervously, looking to Takeshi for help; he certainly didn't want to be the cause of a family argument. Takeshi just gave him a resigned smile in return and shrugged slightly.

"He said only that it is a pity that Takeshi will give us no great-grandchildren," Isamu's mother Junko said in a falsely sweet voice. Aric winced; this was a little too much like being at home with his own family. Although things were probably a lot more civilized than they would be if Aric ever tried to introduce Takeshi to his parents and grandparents! Aric could picture his grandfather going into a towering rage, and he winced again, but frankly, he would have preferred to deal with angry shouting than this subtle air of hostility veiled behind polite platitudes and smiles. He ought to be used to it, but he supposed that he had lost his taste for dealing with pureblood politics.

"Ichiro already has two little girls," Tsutomu said mildly.

"Yes, but they will likely grow up to be weavers, and not carry on the family tradition of Onmyoudo," Masaru said, frowning. He added with a faint hint of disdain, "My youngest son has already set aside tradition to become a cook, an occupation that any ippanjin could perform, and neither of his sons have chosen to become Onmyouji." 

"But I have," Tsutomu replied calmly. "I am the eldest son and heir, and as such, it is my place to carry on the family tradition and take my place as your successor when the time comes. And my son is a promising young Onmyouji, so the succession is secure for the next generation." He smiled at Isamu. "Therefore, I see no reason why my brother and nephews and nieces should not be free to follow the paths of their choosing."

Isamu, Haruko, and Takeshi smiled gratefully at Tsutomu, as did Aric, suddenly feeling much warmer towards his new "uncle". He didn't much care for Takeshi's grandparents, though, and had to repress a growl as he turned to address Masaru. "I am sure you know that Otoosan is more than a simple cook..." Aric began in a coolly polite tone of voice, then hesitated. Somehow he doubted that Masaru would care to be called "Grandfather" by him, so he settled for, "...sir. He and Okaasan maintained the Portkey at the Sakura all these years so that Britain and Japan might remain allies, and prevent the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord from carrying the war over to your country. It seems to me that you ought to be proud of him. Sir."

"He is an insolent young puppy," Masaru said to Isamu, scowling.

"But at least he is loyal to his new family, Otoosan," Tsutomu said, giving Aric a faint smile.

"Well, there is that," Masaru grudgingly conceded.

"Perhaps it is not necessary for Takeshi to provide an heir for the Kimura family," Junko said, sighing regretfully, looking less disapproving and more wistful. "But still, I am sorry that he will never give us great-grandchildren."

"Obviously Aric cannot bear me any sons or daughters," Takeshi said, smiling mischievously. "But that does not necessarily mean that there will be no grandchildren. Perhaps someday if we wish to become parents, we might adopt a child."

Aric was startled by his words. He had assumed that they would never be able to have children; the thought of adoption had never really crossed his mind. Before he had met Takeshi, Aric had taken it for granted that he would someday marry and have children, and he had vaguely regretted, in a hypothetical sort of way, that he would never become a father. Although he certainly wasn't ready to become a father right now, the idea that they could adopt a child someday if they wanted was comforting to Aric.

Junko looked slightly mollified, while Masaru still looked rather sour-faced. Aric half expected him to make a snide comment about mongrel children, but he remained silent, which Aric had to admit showed more restraint than his own father or grandfather would have shown. Haruko tactfully changed the subject, and soon they were all making polite small talk about the wedding again. After breakfast, Masaru, Junko, and Tsutomu went ahead to the palace to mingle with the other wedding guests, with the rest of them promising to follow along shortly.

"I'm sorry, Aric," Isamu apologized. "My father is a bit old-fashioned and stubborn."

"It's all right," Aric replied. "I'm sure that my father and grandfather would have been nowhere near as polite in the same situation."

"Ojiisan isn't really so bad," Takeshi said, giving Aric an apologetic smile. "But he has very rigid ideas about family duty and tradition."

"But you showed loyalty towards Isamu," Haruko said, placing a hand on Aric's shoulder. "Masaru will respect you for that, even if he does not approve of you. And we most certainly do approve of you, my son." And she planted a gentle kiss on Aric's cheek. "Come, let us get ready for the wedding."

Aric felt the same sense of warmth and belonging that he felt when he was with his pack, and it didn't seem to matter so much that Masaru and Junko disapproved of him. "Yes, Mother," he said softly.

*** 

Lupin and Snape arrived in Japan, and Professor Kamiyama took them to the valley of the crane people via a temporary Portkey that had been enspelled for the duration of the wedding festivities. The Professor's daughter and granddaughter, Tsuneko and Miyako, accompanied them, as well as his son Mamoru, but Lupin saw no sign of Tsuneko's husband Seiji; he had been looking forward to talking with the other werewolf.

"He is not coming with us," Kamiyama explained. "The werewolf tribe is even more shy and insular than the crane folk. Seiji would feel uncomfortable being around so many strangers. But perhaps you can meet with him later."

"I wonder what it would have been like, growing up in a pack?" Lupin mused, a little wistfully. "Until Lukas came along and started forming his pack, werewolves in England had usually lived in isolation; we were trying so hard to conceal our true identities that it never occurred to us--never occurred to me, anyway--to seek out the company of other werewolves. My parents fled their home in France, where other werewolves from my clan had once lived, to escape the suspicion and stigma of lycanthropy. They tried very hard to conceal their past, so they probably would have thought that being around other werewolves would put me at greater risk of being discovered and ostracized. But a burden shared is a burden lessened, something Lukas was wise enough to understand. Whatever hardships they endured, the pack was able to bear it, because they all supported each other." 

He smiled tenderly at Snape. "It wasn't until I was able to live with Severus and Theo and Dylan that I truly felt like I belonged to a pack of my own."

"Please forgive the werewolf," Snape growled to the Kamiyamas, his pale face flushing slightly. "He has an annoying tendency to babble."

The Kamiyamas just smiled, and Lupin laughed good-naturedly. Professor Kamiyama led them to the palace, a large pagoda-like building four stories high. The actual wedding ceremony would be witnessed only by the immediate families of the bride and groom, and the official reception would not take place until later that evening, but the guests had been invited to mingle and take light refreshments in the castle courtyard throughout the day, a chance for them to socialize in a less formal atmosphere. 

The courtyard was a large, open grassy area with a koi pond and an artfully arranged rock garden. It was square-shaped and bordered on all four sides by a verandah, where the adult guests were sitting or standing, chatting with each other and smiling indulgently as the children played in the courtyard. Snape and Lupin were wearing formal dress robes, but nearly everyone else seemed to be wearing kimonos. 

The men, for the most part, wore kimonos in darker, more sober colors than the women (brown, black, dark blue, and gray), often with haori coats and hakama. The crane people were immediately recognizable by their long and silky hair, elaborately embroidered kimonos, and graceful demeanor. And the tengu were just as easy to recognize with their beaky noses and boisterous manners. 

One of the tengu men was flirting with several young crane women, who were giggling at his outrageously extravagant compliments, daintily lifting a graceful hand or a pretty silk fan to their faces to conceal their smiles as the elder cranes frowned disapprovingly. Meanwhile, a young crane man with a shy and diffident manner was strolling through the courtyard with a tengu maiden who had a bold smile and an impish gleam in her dark eyes. She said something that Lupin couldn't hear, perhaps a bawdy joke, because her companion blushed a deep red and hastily looked away. But he quickly regained his composure and turned back to face her with a smile (although he was still blushing slightly), and the two of them laughed together, receiving more disapproving looks from the elder cranes.

The Kamiyamas stopped to chat with some Japanese wizards that they knew, and Lupin accepted a glass of fruit juice and Snape a glass of wine from a pretty crane girl who was circulating around the courtyard with a tray of drinks. Lupin sipped at his drink, refreshingly cold in the summer heat, and idly looked around. Most of the faces were unfamiliar, although he did spot Satoshi flirting with a tengu woman who seemed unimpressed by his overtures. Then he noticed a figure clad in British-style black dress robes, and saw that it was Aric.

Lupin and Snape made their way over to their former student, who was sitting on the edge of the verandah with Takeshi and a crane man that Lupin had never met before. Takeshi was wearing a long silk kimono that was a very pale blue, nearly white, at the neck, gradually shading to a deep navy blue at the hem. The shading was so subtle and gradual that it was almost impossible to determine exactly where the colors changed; the various shades of blue seemed to flow smoothly into each other like water, and it was a very beautiful effect. Lupin also noticed that the young mediwizard was wearing his hair in a loose ponytail instead of his usual braid, tied back with a sky-blue ribbon. 

The stranger sitting next to him was wearing a pale green kimono with a haori coat and hakama in a darker forest green, with his hair tied up in a topknot with a length of gold cord. The haori was embroidered with a feather design in gold metallic thread, and was loosely fastened at the waist with a pair of tasseled gold cords. There were two swords tucked into the belt of the hakama, half-concealed beneath the haori coat. Lupin's interest grew when he noticed that the stranger was carving a thin piece of wood with a small knife while a cluster of tengu and crane children watched eagerly.

"Professors!" Aric called, waving at Snape and Lupin when he spotted them. 

"Hello, Remus, Professor Snape," Takeshi said, smiling pleasantly. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Lupin said cheerfully, while Snape just nodded curtly. Lupin loved weddings, but for Snape, they were just another social obligation to be endured.

"This is my cousin Tsubasa," Takeshi said, gesturing towards the green-clad crane man. "Tsubasa, this is Remus Lupin and Severus Snape; they are both Professors at Hogwarts, and former colleagues and comrades of Karasu-sama and Chizuru-hime."

Tsubasa paused to incline his head politely and say, "I am very pleased to meet you," then resumed his carving.

Lupin sat on the verandah next to him and said, "Woodcarving is a hobby of mine as well. Do you mind if I ask what you are making?"

"A dragonfly," Tsubasa replied, although it seemed to Lupin that he was carving a thin strip of wood into what looked like a propeller.

"He's making a take-tonbo, a bamboo dragonfly," Takeshi explained. "It's a traditional Japanese toy."

Tsubasa deftly spun the tip of his knife in the center of the "propeller," drilling a small hole between what Lupin assumed was supposed to be the wings of the dragonfly. One of the children handed him a stick that was about the length of wand, but much smaller in diameter, more like a kebab skewer. Tsubasa set the dragonfly wings on the tip of the stick and handed it back to the child, who spun it between his hands, then quickly tossed it up and released it. The whole thing, both propeller and shaft, went flying, twirling around through the air, and the children laughed and chased after it.

"You're very talented," Lupin told Tsubasa.

The crane man just smiled and shrugged modestly. "Oh, it's just something that I do to amuse the children. It's not really that difficult."

"Actually, you do have to make sure that the wings are balanced properly, or it won't fly," Takeshi interjected.

"Perhaps you could teach me how to make one sometime, if it wouldn't be too much trouble," Lupin said.

"Of course," Tsubasa said pleasantly. "Will you be staying in Japan for awhile?"

"Yes, Severus and Kamiyama-sensei are working on some Potions research, so we'll be staying at the temple for a few weeks," Lupin replied.

"And I'll be staying in the valley for a few weeks as well, to visit my parents," Tsubasa said. He smiled at Takeshi and Aric. "And my cousins. So we could get together sometime, and I can teach you how to make a tonbo, and perhaps you can show me some of your work."

"Thank you," Lupin said, and he and Tsubasa began chatting about carving--Tsubasa mostly made simple toys for the tengu children, while Lupin liked to carve figurines. Snape scowled at them, feeling a trifle jealous, the way he did whenever Lupin seemed to be getting friendly with a handsome man. 

It wasn't that he really thought that Lupin would ever be seduced by another man; it was just an instinctive (and somewhat childish, Snape reluctantly admitted to himself) reaction to seeing someone else become the focus of Lupin's attention, however briefly. It probably dated back to their days at Hogwarts, when Snape had been forced to watch the object of his obsession from a distance while Lupin laughed and joked around with the idiot Marauders. As if reading his mind, Lupin glanced over and gave Snape an affectionate smile; the Potions Master scowled back at him even more fiercely, but was inwardly reassured.

Meanwhile, the children were taking turns flying the dragonfly toy. A very young crane boy, perhaps three years old, spun the stick and tossed it into the air, but it almost immediately fell back to the ground. "It won't fly," he said in Japanese, looking crestfallen.

"That's because you're not doing it right," a tengu girl replied, bluntly but not unkindly.

Tsubasa smiled and gestured for the little boy to give him the toy. To Lupin's and Snape's surprise, he pulled out a wand from a hidden inner pocket that must have been sewn into the lining of his haori coat, then tapped the tonbo with it and cried, "Transformare Libelle!" And suddenly there was a real dragonfly perched on the stick instead of a wooden propeller, its four transparent iridescent wings fluttering slightly. Tsubasa handed the stick back to the awed child, who laughed delightedly when the dragonfly launched itself off the stick and flew up into the air. Then the crowd of children ran across the courtyard, chasing the dragonfly.

"Quite impressive," Lupin said. "That was Transfiguration magic, wasn't it, not merely an illusion?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Yes, although it won't hold that shape for long. It should turn back to normal in a few minutes." 

"That was a Latin spell," Snape said, now regarding the handsome crane man with curiosity instead of hostility. "And I've never seen any of the other Japanese shapeshifters use a wand except for Satoshi, and I suspect that's only for show."

"Oh, that's because I was educated at the Salem Witches' Institute," Tsubasa replied casually. "My stepmother is American, so we lived in the United States for most of my childhood. I can perform wandless magic, but I've grown accustomed to using a wand, and it does seem to help focus and intensify my spells."

"Tsubasa's specialty is Transfiguration magic," Takeshi added. "He was top in his class at Salem."

"Really?" Lupin said, exchanging a significant glance with Snape. "How interesting."

"I don't really put it to much use these days, except to amuse the children," Tsubasa said with a smile. "In fact, the job I have right now is non-magical in nature." He touched the hilts of his swords with one hand. "I serve as a fencing instructor at the tengu clan's main village."

"Really?" Lupin repeated, sounding impressed.

"I teach only the beginning students, mostly youngsters like those," Tsubasa said modestly, motioning towards the crowd of children chasing the dragonfly. "I am still a beginner myself, compared to the more experienced warriors like Karasu."

"You're being modest, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said with a grin. "Karasu himself once told me that you were such a good swordsman that you should have been born a tengu."

Tsubasa smiled, looking a little embarrassed. "That is a tremendous compliment, indeed," he murmured.

"So you work with children," Lupin said, exchanging another glance with Snape, and Tsubasa nodded. 

"The Headmaster has just arrived," Snape said, looking out across the courtyard where Dumbledore was being greeted by Professor Kamiyama.

"Then we should go talk to him," Lupin said enthusiastically, rising to his feet. He bowed politely to Tsubasa, saying, "It was very nice to meet you. And I'll take you up on your offer of teaching me to make a take-tonbo, whenever it's convenient for you."

"Anytime after today is fine; I have no special plans except to attend the wedding," Tsubasa said. "Just contact Takeshi and have him send a message to me, or Kamiyama-sensei should be able to send a message directly to my father's house, where I'll be staying."

"His father is Yokuto, the crane representative to the Wizards' Council," Takeshi explained.

"I'll do that, then," Lupin promised, then hurried off to talk to Dumbledore, while Snape followed at a slower pace, a thoughtful, speculative look on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary of Japanese terms:
> 
> -san: Common honorific added to a name; the equivalent of Mr., Mrs., or Miss.
> 
> -sama: Similar to "san" but conveys a higher degree of respect; usually used to address someone superior in rank. Sometimes translated as "Master" or "Lord".
> 
> -kun: Suffix added to a name; used by a superior when addressing a subordinate, or by close friends and family members. Usually used only when addressing a boy in the second case.
> 
> -chan: Similar to kun but usually refers only to girls or young children.
> 
> -hime; Ohime-sama: Princess
> 
> -oji; Ojisan: Uncle
> 
> sensei: teacher
> 
> Oniisan (or shortened form Niisan): Older brother
> 
> Okaasan: Mother
> 
> Otoosan: Father
> 
> ippanjin: "ordinary people"; what the Japanese wizards call Muggles.
> 
> Mahou Gakkou: The Japanese school of magic; their equivalent of Hogwarts


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore makes a job offer to Tsubasa; Takeshi, Aric, Lupin, and Snape attend the Tanabata festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary of Japanese terms:
> 
> -neesan; Oneesan: Older Sister (in this case, refers to Takeshi's sister-in-law)
> 
> gaijin: foreigner

"So what's up with Lupin and Snape?" Aric asked after the Professors had left. "They kept giving each other these looks--" Aric mimicked Lupin's expression. "--like they were trying to communicate through Legilimency or something."

"I don't know, but Remus is probably up to something," Takeshi replied with a smile. "He does like to meddle in people's lives--with the best of intentions, of course. He is a Gryffindor, after all."

Aric grinned. "And I'm a Slytherin. If someone's keeping a secret, I can't help but want to find out what it is."

"And curiosity is a Slytherin trait?" Tsubasa asked.

"No, the Slytherin traits are ambition and cunning," Aric replied, his grin turning a little sly. "But information is a valuable commodity among the Slytherin elite."

Takeshi laughed. "Well, I'm sure that we'll find out what Remus wants soon enough." 

"Should I be worried that your friend might wish to meddle in my life?" Tsubasa asked, looking amused.

"Oh, Remus is harmless," Takeshi replied. "Mostly."

"Ah well, I'm used to it," Tsubasa laughed. "I live among the tengu, after all, who are inveterate meddlers and pranksters. If nothing else, perhaps Professor Lupin will provide some entertainment and distraction, which I'm sure I will find welcome before long." He sighed. "I miss my parents when I'm away, but it's always difficult coming back home to the valley."

"You don't like it here?" Aric asked, but before Tsubasa could answer, the children came running back with the dragonfly, which had reverted to its original wooden form. One of the crane children asked Tsubasa something in Japanese, and he shook his head, smiling ruefully, and made a reply that sounded like a gentle refusal.

"He asked if Tsubasa would make wooden swords for them to play with," Takeshi translated for Aric. "I think the children are excited by the presence of the tengu warriors in general, and Tsubasa in particular. He's quite an exotic figure to them, since the crane folk aren't warriors by nature. But Tsubasa says that he can't give them swords, because the elders would be angry with him."

Tsubasa, who had overheard the translation, muttered under his breath, "Speak of the devil," as a crane man walked towards them. He was tall and very handsome, his black hair bound back in a tail so long that it brushed against the floor. He wore a long silvery-gray kimono that probably would have made Dylan Rosier (who favored silver clothing and jewelry that matched his eyes) drool with envy. As the man drew closer, Aric could see that the kimono had been embroidered with metallic silver thread in an overlapping feather design, so that it looked like the handsome stranger was wearing a robe made of feathers.

But although the silver-robed crane was stunningly handsome, he looked down his nose at them in a haughty manner that reminded Aric of Lucius Malfoy. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, but so did Haruko, who had to be in her late forties at the very least, to have two grown sons. The crane folk seemed to age very gracefully.

Takeshi rose to his feet and bowed deeply; Aric hastily followed suit. The crowd of children bowed as well, while Tsubasa remained seated, but bowed in the direction of the stranger.

"Kazuhiko-sama," Takeshi said, straightening up from his bow. "This is my mate, Aric Dietrich." Kazuhiko muttered something in Japanese that sounded disparaging, and Takeshi's tone of voice changed from pleasant and respectful to something still polite but much chillier. "Please, Kazuhiko-sama," Takeshi said, "my mate does not speak Japanese."

"Your mate cannot be bothered to learn the language of your people?" Kazuhiko demanded in English.

"Aric and I have been mated for only a few weeks," Takeshi replied, bowing his head politely although Aric could hear his voice sharpening slightly with anger. "Perhaps I misspoke; I should have said that Aric can speak only a little Japanese, but he is working most diligently to learn our language."

Aric considered telling Kazuhiko about the "language lessons" Takeshi had been giving him in bed, just to get a rise out of him, but the crane man didn't look like he had much of a sense of humor, and Aric didn't want to make trouble for Takeshi and his family. So he merely bowed and said, "Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu," a phrase that Takeshi said translated as "I'm pleased to meet you" or "please be good to me". Aric doubted that he could expect Kazuhiko to "be good" to him, but as a former pureblood heir, he was used to observing formalities that no one sincerely meant.

Kazuhiko just wrinkled his nose slightly, as if he smelled something foul, and said disdainfully, "Wolves and crows overrunning our valley--what has the world come to?" Then without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and stalked away.

"Kazuhiko-sama isn't really all bad," Takeshi told Aric with an apologetic smile. "He's just very conservative and set in his ways, and having so many strangers in the valley is setting him on edge. But I'm sorry that he was rude to you."

"You're more charitable than I, Cousin," Tsubasa said with a little snort, although he didn't look particularly upset or offended, more resigned. He smiled and said to Aric, "My American friends would say that he has a stick up his ass. Or arse, I guess you British would say."

Aric laughed, a little startled to hear something so blunt and crude coming out of the mouth of the beautiful and graceful crane man. A couple of the older children, who must have understood English, giggled at the comment and explained to it to the others, who started giggling as well.

"Shhh," Tsubasa said, laying a finger across his lips, although his eyes were sparkling with laughter. "You'll get me into trouble." He turned the wooden tonbo back into a real dragonfly and sent it flying across the courtyard again, and the children laughed and ran after it.

"Kazuhiko doesn't bother me," Aric assured Takeshi and Tsubasa. "I know plenty of people like him back home. Actually, he reminds me of--"

"Lucius Malfoy!" Takeshi said, chiming in as Aric said the exact same thing, and they both laughed. "But seriously, Kazuhiko-sama isn't that bad. He may be a snob, but at least he's not a Death Eater."

"Why do you call him 'sama'?" Aric asked curiously. "Doesn't that mean 'Lord'? Is he a high-muckety-muck?"

"You might say that," Tsubasa said with a wry smile. "He is Chizuru-hime's first cousin, and therefore second in line to inherit the throne if she has no children. But now that the princess is marrying Karasu, it's no doubt sticking in his craw that the future ruler of the crane people will probably be half-crow. In his mind, I'm no better than a crow myself, for forsaking my people to live among the tengu."

Takeshi gave his cousin a sympathetic smile. "I don't think that Kazuhiko-sama craves power for power's sake. He sincerely wants to protect the clan, but unfortunately, he has a rather narrow and rigid idea of what is best for our people." 

"Most of the Death Eaters were just power hungry, but some of them sincerely thought they were doing what was best for the wizarding world," Aric reminded him.

"You're right," Takeshi said quietly. "But the crane folk are not violent. Kazuhiko and the others who think like him would never resort to bloodshed. They merely want to retreat further into isolation, sealing the valley off completely from the outside world, even from the other shapeshifter races and the human wizards."

"Such stagnation is a kind of death in itself," Tsubasa said, his expression grave now. "If the clan seals itself off like that, eventually we will wither away and die out--from inbreeding, if nothing else."

"But that will not happen now, I think," Takeshi said, smiling. "Chizuru and Karasu will open relations with the other clans and lead our people forward into the future instead of backwards. And perhaps someday Kazuhiko-sama will understand that it is for the best."

"And maybe someday the cherry blossoms will bloom in midwinter, but I don't think it very likely," Tsubasa said skeptically. "Still, I suppose one can always hope." He rose to his feet and bowed. "Please excuse me, Cousins. I am performing a sword dance at the reception tonight with some of the tengu, and we have one final rehearsal before the real thing."

"Oh, that reminds me," Takeshi said. "Aric is a student of the sword himself, and he would like to request a match with you."

"I've been taking European-style fencing lessons for several years, although I'm sure that I'm nowhere near as good as you," Aric said politely.

"Of course, I would be delighted," Tsubasa told him with what seemed like sincere pleasure. "I thought that I wouldn't have anyone to spar with once my tengu friends leave the valley after the wedding."

"I didn't bring my sword with me," Aric said. "I didn't think that I'd have anyone to spar with, either."

"No matter," Tsubasa said. "I can lend you a spare."

"Please don't hurt him too badly, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I would like him back in one piece."

"Then I promise to do no damage that you cannot heal," Tsubasa said with a grin. Then he bowed and left.

"I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into," Aric said, laughing nervously.

"Oh, don't worry," Takeshi said cheerfully. "I'll brew some healing potion and salve ahead of time." 

"That's very reassuring," Aric said sarcastically.

"I can tell my cousin not to be too hard on you because I expect you to still be able to perform your marital duties in bed, my wolf," Takeshi whispered into Aric's ear, causing his face to turn scarlet.

"Don't say things like that in public," Aric scolded in a husky voice. "Or I might not be able to control the wolf." It really didn't help that Takeshi was wearing his hair in a ponytail instead of a braid. It was tied off at the nape of his neck with a blue ribbon, letting the rest of it fall free to his waist, and that length of shining black silk seemed to be taunting Aric, begging him to touch it and run his fingers through it. 

"It's almost obscene, seeing you with your hair loose in public," Aric whispered, reaching out to place a finger on Takeshi's ponytail, just the faintest touch, the tip of his finger just barely brushing against his lover's silky hair, but that was enough to send waves of heat through Aric's body, making him shudder with desire.

"Oh?" Takeshi asked coyly, reaching up with one hand to touch the ribbon holding back his hair. "And if the sight of me in a ponytail is enough to provoke the wolf, what would happen if I took off this ribbon and let my hair fall completely loose?"

"What would Lord Kazuhiko and the rest of your people do if I pushed you down and took you right here and now in front of everyone?" Aric growled in a low voice, and it was Takeshi's turn to blush, but it was not entirely with embarrassment. His pupils seemed to dilate and his lips parted, his breathing growing faster and more labored. Aric nearly did lose control of the wolf then, instinct overriding reason for a split second, but just as he was about to pounce on his mate, a hearty and cheerful voice called out...

"Ah, Mr. Kimura, just the person I wanted to see!"

Aric and Takeshi both jumped and turned around to face the Headmaster, blushing guiltily like two Hogwarts students who had just been caught making out in the rose bushes or under the Quidditch stands. Lupin grinned, looking very amused, while Dumbledore smiled at them genially, and Snape just raised an eyebrow.

"Ah...hello, Headmaster, it's good to see you again," a flustered Takeshi said, trying to regain his composure. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you might arrange a meeting between your cousin and myself," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Perhaps in a day or two, or whenever is most convenient for him."

"With Tsubasa?" Takeshi asked, looking startled.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, smiling cheerfully.

"All right," Takeshi said, clearly puzzled but not pressing for more information. "I'll speak to Tsubasa later and send you a message."

"You can reach me at Kamiyama-sensei's temple," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I've decided to stay in Japan and play tourist for a few days."

"All right," Takeshi repeated.

"Thank you, Mr. Kimura," Dumbledore said. "Please give my regards to your parents. Ah, never mind--there they are, by the pond. I'll go and greet them myself." He excused himself and went over to talk to Haruko and Isamu, and Snape and Lupin also left before Aric and Takeshi could question them.

"So what was all that about?" Aric asked, confused enough to be temporarily distracted from his lust. "Why would Dumbledore want to talk to your cousin?"

"Perhaps he wants to hire him as a teacher?" Takeshi speculated.

"He would make a good Physical Defense instructor, but Lukas is already in that position," Aric said, frowning. "In fact, I don't know of any openings at Hogwarts. Even if there were, would Tsubasa really be interested in moving to England?"

Takeshi shrugged. "He's never expressed any interest in leaving Japan permanently, although he does visit Reiko's family and some of his old classmates in America from time to time. I guess we'll just have to wait until Dumbledore talks to Tsubasa to find out what he wants."

They continued mingling with the other guests, making polite small talk, although since many of the guests didn't speak much English, Aric spent a lot of time smiling and nodding politely while having no clue as to what was going on in the conversation unless Takeshi translated for him. 

Well, that was not quite true--Aric suspected that Takeshi left a few less-than-polite remarks out of his translation. No one was outright rude to him (other than Kazuhiko), and they all greeted him with polite smiles, but Aric had spent enough time among the pureblood elite to recognize false politeness when he heard it. Behind his back, he often heard the word "oukami" mentioned, and thanks to Ichiro's twins, he knew that it meant "wolf," which meant they were probably talking about him since there weren't any other werewolves around.

"Are we scandalous, you and I?" Aric whispered to his lover, when they paused for a drink between small-talk sessions. "Because I'm a wolf, or because I'm male, or both?"

Takeshi smiled and replied, "Well, we're a little scandalous, I suppose. Not so much to the tengu; they have no objection to same-sex romances unless it prevents the head of a family from producing an heir, and since neither of us is a tengu, the interspecies thing doesn't concern them, either, although it might be a different story if one of their own chose a wolf as a lifemate. For the cranes, the bond between mates is sacred. We believe that for each of us, there is one person destined to be our other half, and it is forbidden for someone to break up a mated pair; to do so would anger the gods. Of course, Kazuhiko and others like him are displeased about outsiders marrying into the clan and diluting the bloodline, but none of them would ever do more than grumble about it. As for you being male, no one, not even Kazuhiko, really cares about that. If anything, he's probably relieved that at least we won't be having any half-wolf children."

"And the human wizards?" Aric asked.

"They are somewhat like the purebloods back home," Takeshi replied. "Same-sex affairs are tolerated, but the participants are expected to be discreet about it. They don't normally go about openly declaring themselves lovers like we are, so that is a bit scandalous. The Japanese wizards don't have the same prejudice about interspecies marriages that the purebloods back home do; in fact, it's normally considered an honor to marry into one of the shapeshifter clans. We are probably causing a lot of gossip, though, since the Japanese werewolves are very isolated and don't normally mingle with the other races. And of course there is the fact that werewolves cannot control their monthly curse."

"You told me that wolves were considered divine creatures in your homeland," Aric reminded him.

Takeshi gave him a wry smile. "And gods are often feared as well as revered, my love. The human wizards do regard the werewolves with respect...and keep a healthy distance from them. Most of the people here have probably never seen a werewolf before. I think that they're more curious than frightened, though."

"Should I growl and bare my teeth a little?" Aric joked. "I wouldn't want to disappoint them."

Takeshi just laughed and shook his head. They resumed circulating around the courtyard and making small talk, when suddenly they came face-to-face with a handsome Japanese man who was perhaps a few years older than Takeshi. There was brief, uncomfortable silence, then Takeshi bowed and said in a polite but cool voice, "Koichi-san, how nice to see you again."

"Takeshi-kun," Koichi said, bowing in return, a slightly strained smile on his face.

_Not another ex-boyfriend!_ Aric groaned silently, feeling a little disgruntled. _Just how many of them are there, anyway?_

"This is my wife, Sayoko," Koichi continued, indicating a pretty woman standing at his side, cradling an infant in her arms. "And our son, Kotaro."

"I am pleased to meet you," Sayoko said, bowing slightly while still holding the baby.

"I am pleased to meet you, Sayoko-san," Takeshi said politely, bowing again. "This is--" he started to say, motioning towards Aric.

"His mate," Aric finished in a firm voice, staring Koichi straight in the eyes and moving a little closer to Takeshi. "Aric Dietrich." Then he bowed and said in his best Japanese, "Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu." When he straightened up, he saw that Koichi was frowning at him disapprovingly, but he wasn't sure whether that was due to jealousy or because he wasn't being properly discreet. Not that Aric gave a damn what Takeshi's ex thought of him. Sayoko's eyes widened slightly, but she recovered quickly, and smiled and bowed politely.

Aric glanced over at Takeshi, who fortunately looked amused rather than annoyed by Aric's possessiveness. "How are your parents, Koichi-san?" he inquired politely.

"Very well," Koichi replied. "And yours?"

"Quite well indeed," Takeshi replied. "Business has been good; they're expanding services at the restaurant." They all made awkward small talk for a few minutes before Takeshi politely excused himself, to Koichi's obvious relief.

"Let me guess," Aric growled as they walked away. "That guy dumped you because his parents wanted him to make an arranged marriage."

"Something like that," Takeshi said lightly. "We had a summer fling years ago, only I didn't know at the time that he only intended it to be a fling."

"I'm going to tear that guy to pieces," Aric growled and Takeshi had to grab his arm to keep him from turning around and going after Koichi. 

"Calm down," Takeshi said soothingly. "It wasn't entirely his fault. It was an error of miscommunication rather than an act of malice or deceit. I was only visiting for the summer, so he assumed that we both knew it wouldn't turn into anything serious. But I was sixteen and just beginning to discover that I liked boys instead of girls, and I wasn't really thinking ahead. I got swept away in the moment, and mistook lust for love."

Which probably meant that Takeshi had lost his virginity to that idiot they had just been making small talk with, which made Aric even more insanely jealous. "Are you deliberately trying to drive me crazy?" he groaned. "Are we going to run into any more of your ex-boyfriends here?"

"No, I don't think so," Takeshi replied, smiling at Aric sympathetically, although there was still a glint of amusement in his eyes. "My other boyfriends were all British. I didn't indulge in any more 'summer flings' after that."

"That makes me feel so much better," Aric said sarcastically, wondering if they were going to bump into yet another ex the next time they went to Diagon Alley. He turned to glare at Koichi one last time, and was slightly disappointed to see that the other's back was turned to him, so his rival couldn't see his murderous glare. "If I can't kill him, can I at least bite him?"

"No, love," Takeshi said, taking him by the arm and gently steering him away. "It wouldn't be polite."

"Screw politeness," Aric muttered under his breath, but allowed Takeshi to lead him away.

Takeshi leaned in close and whispered into Aric's ear, "I would rather you screw _me_...after the wedding reception, of course."

Aric laughed out loud, causing people to turn and stare at them, while Takeshi smiled innocently, as if he had no idea what was going on. "You're bad, my love," Aric told his mate, but his tone of voice was approving and admiring rather than reproachful. "It's that innocent face of yours that allows you to get away with it. No one would ever believe me if I told them what kinds of things come out of that sweet mouth of yours."

"That's because people expect wickedness from a Slytherin," Takeshi said. "They think that we Ravenclaws are all dry intellectualism. But as a Ravenclaw, I researched all the subjects that interested me most thoroughly, including..." He lowered his eyes and smiled demurely. "...the arts of love. How else do you think I recognized the manual that Theodore gave you?"

Aric laughed again. "I give up; there's no way I could best you, 'Keshi!"

"High praise, from a Slytherin," Takeshi said, grinning at him.

Aric leaned closer and murmured, "Would you mind if we created a bit more of a scandal, love? Just a little bit?" Takeshi smiled and shook his head, so Aric leaned in a little closer and kissed him on the mouth. He heard startled gasps and giggles from the human and crane guests, and a few approving whistles and cheers from the tengu. When he pulled away, Aric was gratified to see Koichi glaring at him enviously. _Eat your heart out, you bastard,_ Aric thought smugly.

*** 

As evening fell, several of the cranes and tengu quietly left the courtyard. Takeshi explained to Aric that the actual wedding ceremony was private, and would only be witnessed by family members. "Basically, the couple pledges themselves to one another, and the priest asks the gods to bless the marriage."

In the meantime, the guests were led to the reception hall. Instead of seating them at large tables in groups, two long rows of small, low tables, one for each guest, had been arranged on either side of the room; there were no chairs, only cushions to sit on, but fortunately Aric had become accustomed to sitting on the floor. At the head of the room was a raised dais with several more tables, although it was empty at the moment.

Not long after all the guests had been seated, the bride and groom entered the hall, followed by their attendants and family members. The bride's attendants were wearing lovely silk kimonos, but of course Chizuru outshone them all in the magnificent wedding robes that Ichiro and Kaori had made for her. The groom's men were dressed much more simply, in black silk hakama, kimonos, and haori coats emblazoned in gold with what seemed to be the crest of the tengu clan, a sword crossed over a feather. Karasu wore a black kimono and hakama, and a long haori made of bright gold silk that was decorated with a design of crows and cranes.

"Like real crows, the tengu are fond of bright and shiny things," Takeshi whispered to Aric.

The family members, including the King and Queen of the crane people, were dressed in fine silk garments that were stately but subdued in color and design, as if not to detract from the bride and groom, who were supposed to be the center of attention. The wedding party took their seats on the dais, with Chizuru and Karasu sitting in the place of honor at the center. The bride and groom made a polite speech, thanking everyone for coming, and urged them to enjoy the feast. 

It was a splendid feast with many courses; Aric lost track of just how many there were. It seemed that as soon as he had finished with one dish, another would magically appear to take its place. There was rice, of course, and soup and vegetables, and a great variety of fish and shellfish--which was not surprising, since he knew that the main staple of the cranes' diet was fish. 

There were also little ceramic jars of sake, which seemed to magically refill themselves when they were emptied. Takeshi poured some sake for him into a little saucer that apparently served in place of a cup; Aric noticed that the other guests were not pouring their own drinks, but serving and being served by their dinner companions, so he followed suit and poured a drink for Takeshi, who smiled at him approvingly. Aric found the rice wine deliciously smooth and sweet, and Takeshi cautioned him not to drink too much, because it was stronger than it tasted.

"I seem to recall that you do not hold your liquor well, my wolf," Takeshi told him with a wry, affectionate smile.

"I hold my liquor a lot better than Malfoy," Aric protested indignantly, but drank sparingly nevertheless. The tengu didn't seem to have any such reservations, and were soon laughing boisterously, ignoring the disapproving frowns of the more conservative cranes.

Once the meal was over, and everyone seemed to be feeling mellow, aided by copious amounts of alcohol (even Kazuhiko looked slightly less sour), Chizuru announced that her attendants would perform a dance for the entertainment of the guests. Three of the crane maidens took up instruments--a wooden flute, a small hand-held drum, and a three-stringed guitar-like instrument that Takeshi said was called a shamisen, while three other maidens unfurled silk fans and moved into the aisle between the two rows of tables. 

The musicians began playing, and the three maidens began dancing, moving in light, graceful steps. They used the fans to accentuate the sweeping movements of their arms, which caused their wide kimono sleeves to flutter like wings, and they would also coquettishly smile and hide their faces behind their fans and sleeves. Occasionally they would unexpectedly leap into the air, the hems of their kimonos lifting just enough to expose a glimpse of dainty white ankles, which caused the tengu men to applaud approvingly. The dancers seemed to hang in midair for a moment, defying gravity, before floating gracefully back to the floor. Takeshi quietly whispered to Aric that the dance contained elements from the mating dance of the true cranes, most notably the leaping.

Lupin, who was sitting next to them, whispered, "It's very beautiful. It almost makes you believe that they could fly, even in human form."

When the crane women finished their dance, everyone applauded enthusiastically, and then Karasu announced that three of his best warriors would perform a sword dance. His tengu companions cheered loudly, and the other guests clapped politely.

A huge drum, nearly as big as a man, was rolled in and set sideways on a stand, and a stout, muscular tengu man began pounding out a steady beat with two large drumsticks. Two tengu men jumped down from the dais, casting aside their haori coats, and Tsubasa jumped up from his seat on the floor, likewise throwing off his own haori, and all three men rushed towards each other, drawing their swords. 

While the crane maidens' dance had been slow and graceful, almost sedate, the sword dance was something much more primal that appealed to both the warrior and the wolf in Aric. The three men leaped and darted about, their feet hitting the floor in perfect timing with the drumbeats even as they slashed and parried with their swords. They weren't using wooden practice swords, either; Aric could see the light glinting off the polished steel, and hear the scrape of metal on metal as the blades clashed against each other. 

They moved in an intricate pattern that must have required perfect timing and excellent reflexes--one of the tengu dancers sidestepped a sword-thrust from Tsubasa that would have stabbed him in the belly if he had been a second slower, and immediately turned to parry a blow from the third dancer, who then suddenly dropped to his knees and swung his blade in a sweeping circular motion that would have cut Tsubasa off at the ankles if he hadn't leapt up into the air at just the right moment.

The crowd gasped, and even Kazuhiko and his cronies seemed spellbound by the deadly dance. Only it couldn't really be deadly, Aric told himself. Surely the dancers must be using blunted blades; surely they wouldn't risk maiming or killing each other just to provide a bit of entertainment at a wedding.

And then the first dancer struck at Tsubasa, who gracefully whirled around, evading the blow and turning to attack the other tengu man. However, while his body had moved out of harm's way, his long tail of hair still trailed behind him, and the first dancer's blade sliced a small lock off the end of it, just a fraction of an inch, but it was enough to prove that the blades were very sharp indeed.

The spectators gasped again, in fear and shock and delight (although the latter came mainly from the tengu) as those tiny bits of black hair fell to the floor. "Merlin's Beard!" Aric exclaimed. "They're fighting with real swords!"

"Of course they are," Takeshi said calmly, apparently unperturbed about the possibility of his favorite cousin being sliced to ribbons before his eyes. "Tengu pride would permit nothing less. For a casual bout, wooden or blunted blades would suffice, but these are three of the best swordsmen of the tengu clan, and they are performing to show honor to their lord and his bride and his bride's family. Honor and pride demand that they display their skills to the fullest."

"You used real swords in your fencing lessons, didn't you, Aric?" Lupin inquired cheerfully. "Your sister even gave you a beautiful rapier for Christmas last year, as I recall."

"Well, yes, but we also wear padded armor, and masks to protect our faces," Aric said. "Nobody suffers anything more than a few bruises or strained muscles."

"The tengu have a saying, that true skill can be developed only through fear," Takeshi said with a smile. "They believe that without the element of danger, a warrior will subconsciously remain complacent and be unable to develop his talent to its full potential."

"The 'throw the baby into the deep end of the pool' approach," Lupin observed.

"Or perhaps the 'throw the baby off the tower' approach," Snape said dryly. "Longbottom's uncle once dropped him out of an upstairs window to test whether he was really a Squib or not. Come to think of it, he also pushed the boy off the end of a pier once, too, so I guess that both analogies apply."

"That's pretty vicious," Aric said almost admiringly. "He would have made a good Slytherin."

"I thought that Neville's Great-Uncle Algie dropped him by mistake," Lupin said.

"Of course that's what he told everyone afterwards," Snape said, rolling his eyes slightly. "But if you believe that, then I'd better keep you away from Uncle Ali. I'm sure that he has a bridge and a nice patch of swampland that he'd just love to sell you..."

Lupin chuckled good-naturedly, and Aric smiled and said to Takeshi, "But seriously, 'Keshi, aren't you worried about Tsubasa? One wrong move and he's toast."

"I have faith in his skill," Takeshi said serenely. "The fact that Karasu chose Tsubasa to participate in this dance is proof enough for me; he would never have chosen anyone that he thought was incapable or unworthy."

"If you say so," Aric said, a bit doubtfully, hoping that Takeshi was right. The drummer picked up the tempo, and the three dancers began moving faster, keeping time with the music, whirling and leaping about frenetically until they were moving so fast they became an indistinct blur of black and gold and green, with flashes of bright silver as the metallic clang of the swords provided a counterpoint to the drumbeats.

The drumming increased in volume and speed until it reached a crescendo and suddenly ceased, and the three dancers froze in place, their blades a hairbreadth away from each other's throats.

There was a moment of dead silence, and then the room erupted into applause. The dancers sheathed their swords and bowed, then left the room, probably to change their clothes or at least cast a cleaning spell, because Aric was close enough to see that all three of them were dripping with sweat. The drummer also bowed and left, looking nearly as sweaty and exhausted as the dancers.

The room erupted into conversation, and although it was all in Japanese, Aric could tell by the marveling tone of their voices that the human and crane guests must be expressing admiration of the dancers' skill, and shock that they would perform such a dangerous exhibition. The tengu must have known about the nature of the dance in advance, though, because none of them looked surprised, although they also seemed to be praising the skill of the swordsmen.

On the opposite side of the aisle, two young tengu women were talking and giggling together, then one said something in a sly tone of voice and elbowed the tengu man who was sitting next to her. The man laughed and said something rueful, and Lupin and Takeshi chuckled. Snape remained silent, but looked mildly amused, and raised his eyebrows slightly as if the tengu trio had said something interesting.

"What did they say?" Aric asked curiously, resolving to work harder on his Japanese lessons. It got a little tiring, being odd man out all the time.

"The women were talking about how handsome Tsubasa is," Lupin explained, his blue eyes still gleaming with laughter. "One of the young ladies said that she would like to...er...invite him into her bedchamber, and the other said that Kuro--I assume that's the young tengu gentleman--would have better luck with that request."

"And Kuro said, 'I wish!'" Takeshi laughed.

"So your cousin is gay?" Aric asked.

Takeshi smiled and shrugged. "My cousin is discreet, and does not discuss his love affairs with me. However, from what I have observed, and from the gossip I've heard, I would say that his preferences probably lean towards his own gender." Then he grinned and teased, "Why, are you looking for a new lover, my wolf? Surely you're not tired of me already!"

"Of course not, you silly git," Aric scolded, reaching out to clasp Takeshi's hand and give it a quick squeeze; he knew that Takeshi was only joking, but he sensed that his lover would probably like a bit of reassurance anyway. "I was just curious; you know that Slytherins love to gossip. You're the only one that I want."

"I know, I was just teasing," Takeshi said, but he looked gratified by Aric's words.

"Ah, young love," Lupin said to Snape, smiling affectionately at his two former students.

"How nauseating," Snape muttered sourly.

Not long after that, Chizuru and Karasu thanked the guests for coming, and the reception was officially at an end, although the bride and groom lingered to chat with the guests and thank them individually. Snape groaned and winced as he pushed himself away from the table. "My legs have gone numb," he grumbled. "I'm too old to be sitting on the floor for hours at a time."

Lupin nimbly jumped to his feet and offered Snape a hand up, causing the Potions Master to glare at him. "Nonsense, Sev, you exaggerate," Lupin said cheerfully. "You're not at all old, and besides, I'm the same age as you, and I'm just fine."

"It must be your werewolf blood," Snape irritably, waving off Lupin's hand and awkwardly struggling to his feet on his own. "Canines are used to lying and sitting on the floor."

Takeshi gracefully rose to his feet, and Aric stood up with slightly less grace than his mate, but still with more ease than Snape, who gave both of his former students a sour look. Aric smiled smugly, and Takeshi sympathetically. "It takes some getting used to, Professor," the mediwizard said tactfully. "I've had a lifetime of practice. Aric's had less practice, of course, but he's been eating and sleeping on the floor ever since we got to the valley, so he's begun to get used to it."

"Well, my old bones are a bit creaky, so I wouldn't mind a hand up," Dumbledore said cheerfully, and Lupin helped him to his feet. "Thank you, my boy. I'll say goodnight to the bride and groom, then head back to the temple. By the way, Mr. Kimura, that was quite an impressive performance that your cousin and his friends put on."

Takeshi bowed and said, "I'll pass your compliment on to them, Headmaster. And I'll arrange the meeting with Tsubasa, as you requested."

"Thank you, Mr. Kimura; I know I can count on you."

"Well, Severus, perhaps we should be leaving as well," Lupin said, giving Snape a look that could only be called "come hither": a sidelong glance through half-closed eyes that managed to look both sleepy and sensual at the same time. "It's getting late, and we should be getting to bed." The tone of his voice implied that they would be doing something other than sleeping in that bed.

Snape's pale, sallow face turned bright red, and he snapped, "Yes, I think we should be going, as it seems you've drunk too much sake tonight." He nodded curtly at Takeshi and Aric, then took Lupin by the arm and all but dragged him out of the hall with considerable haste as Lupin protested, "I'm not drunk!"

Aric and Takeshi grinned at each other. "Perhaps we should be getting to bed, too," Aric said. He gave the ribbon tying Takeshi's hair back a gentle, playful tug--not quite hard enough to actually loosen it--then leaned closer and whispered into his lover's ear, "Or at least to somewhere we can be alone, where I can take off that ribbon and kimono." He still felt a bit self-conscious about making love under the same roof as his in-laws, so Aric murmured, "Maybe we could go to that hot spring?"

"So you're developing a fondness for baths, are you?" Takeshi teased. "Well, we'd better hurry, if we don't wish to find it occupied. I think there will be quite a number of people looking for a little privacy tonight." And now that Takeshi had mentioned it, Aric noticed that many young couples were pairing off and leaving the hall arm-in-arm or hand-in-hand, obviously with romance on their minds. 

"Well then," Aric said, taking Takeshi by the hand, "what are we waiting for?"

Laughing, they Apparated to the hot spring, which fortunately, was still unoccupied--but not for long. Takeshi flipped the sign around to "Occupied," and they entered the dense thicket concealing the spring. And if any couples seeking a private spot for a tryst had happened to pass by, they would have heard the sound of laughter and splashing water, then sighing and moaning, and eventually the sound of a wolf howling in triumph and joy.

*** 

Things were quiet in the valley the day after the wedding; Chizuru and Karasu departed on their honeymoon, and everyone else was resting and recuperating from the wedding preparations and the actual party--and in the cases of some people, mainly the tengu--sleeping off hangovers.

Takeshi sent a message to his cousin, who agreed to meet with Dumbledore the following day, and Takeshi sent his response on to the Headmaster at Professor Kamiyama's temple. With that obligation out of the way, Takeshi and Aric were free to spend most of the day lounging around the house, not doing much of anything.

"I feel a little guilty about being so lazy," Takeshi murmured as he lay sprawled out next to Aric on the futon in their room, but despite his words, he looked sleepy and content. A faint breeze caused the wind chime hanging in the open window to make a soft, tinkling noise.

"You deserve a chance to be lazy once in awhile," Aric told him firmly. He knew how hard Takeshi worked, at both St. Mungo's and the clinic, essentially holding down two full-time jobs. His mate smiled at him, and before long, Aric saw Takeshi's eyes close fully, and his breathing grew slow and even. Aric soon dozed off himself, lulled into slumber by the summer heat.

When he woke up, he saw a crane crouched beside him, plucking feathers from its breast. There was a small pile of white feathers lying beside it, and a patch of bare, exposed pink skin on its chest.

"'Keshi?" Aric asked in a startled voice. 

Takeshi transformed back into his human form, then calmly gathered up the feathers and placed them in a cloth bag. "Ah, you're awake," he said, smiling at Aric affectionately. "I thought I should start gathering feathers for the robe that my brother promised to make you." 

"Doesn't that hurt?" Aric asked in a worried voice, pulling open the folds of the kimono Takeshi was wearing to examine his chest, which seemed unharmed, although the skin there looked slightly flushed.

"I'm fine," Takeshi assured him, as Aric gently stroked his chest. "It's just a little tender, that's all."

"I'm sorry," Aric said contritely, kissing Takeshi's chest. "If it hurts, we can forget about the robe."

Takeshi shivered as Aric's lips touched his skin. "No, honestly, I'm fine," he insisted. "We cranes do this all the time; where else do you think that the weavers get all the feathers they use to make their silk? It would hurt if I tried to pluck a full robe's worth of feathers all at once, but it won't hurt if I just pluck a few feathers every day until I have enough. I want to give you this token of my love, Aric. Please let me do this for you."

"All right," Aric said softly, feeling very moved. "Then let me make it up to you." He continued planting gentle kisses all over Takeshi's chest. "Does that feel better?"

"Mm-hmm," Takeshi sighed. "That feels nice. Ah!" He gasped as Aric's mouth closed over one of his nipples, gently sucking and nibbling. 

Aric looked up and gave him a wolfish grin. "Shall I cast a silence spell?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Takeshi groaned.

Aric obliged, and the two of them made slow, tender love all afternoon, the breeze that blew through the window cooling them as it dried the sweat on their skin, while the wind chime tinkled merrily, although it could hardly be heard over the moans of the two lovers.

*** 

The next day, Lupin, Snape, Dumbledore, and Tsubasa arrived at the Kimuras' cottage, where Takeshi had offered to let them hold the meeting. The Headmaster bowed and handed Takeshi a large box of Honeydukes sweets. "Just a small token of my gratitude, Mr. Kimura," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I appreciate all your help."

"The pleasure is mine, Headmaster," Takeshi said politely, accepting the box. "Please be seated and make yourselves at home while I get some tea."

The four guests sat themselves on the floor around a table in the living room with varying degrees of awkwardness or grace. Takeshi returned a few minutes later with a tray holding a pot of tea and some cups, while Aric followed, carrying a plate with some of the sweets arranged on it. Aric laid the plate on the table while Takeshi served the tea; he tried to keep his expression as serene and calm as Takeshi's, but he was fairly bursting with curiosity over this mysterious meeting that Dumbledore had asked for.

When Takeshi had finished pouring the tea, he bowed and said, "Aric and I will leave now, to give you some privacy," ignoring the glare that Aric shot his way. "My parents are visiting my brother right now, so you will have the house to yourselves."

"We didn't intend to throw you out of your own home, Mr. Kimura," the Headmaster protested.

"It's all right," Takeshi replied with a pleasant smile. "It's a nice day for a walk, and I thought perhaps Aric and I could take a stroll by the lake."

"Or we could just wait in the next room," Aric said innocently.

"Where you could overhear everything with with your keen wolf ears?" Lupin asked, grinning and winking at Aric; Aric grinned back at him sheepishly.

"I think it would be fine if the two of you stayed for the meeting," Dumbledore said. "But I must ask you to keep what you hear in confidence."

"Of course, Headmaster," Takeshi said. Aric was eager to know the reason behind the meeting, so he nodded in agreement as well.

So they seated themselves at the table, and Dumbledore politely introduced himself to Tsubasa. The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries as Aric tried not to squirm with impatience, while Lupin nibbled on some candy, and Snape and Takeshi calmly sipped their tea.

"Your performance at the reception was quite impressive," Dumbledore was saying.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Tsubasa replied. If he was curious to know what Dumbledore wanted, it didn't show on his face, which was set in an expression of polite but slightly detached interest. Either he wasn't particularly interested in what a foreign professor might want from him, or he was just better at covering up his curiosity than Aric.

"It seems rather dangerous, though," Lupin interjected. "You could have been seriously injured if the timing of any one of the dancers had been even slightly off."

"Of course," Takeshi said with a laugh. "That's what makes it so impressive." His cousin just smiled modestly.

"Well, I am glad that you escaped without any damage, except perhaps a bit of a haircut," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. "More of a slight trim, actually."

Takeshi and Tsubasa both laughed. Snape raised an eyebrow and asked in his low, sardonic voice, "Am I correct in assuming that the incident was staged?"

"Oh!" Lupin exclaimed. "You mean it was all part of the act?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "It should have been obvious to anyone but a Gryffindor," he said in the scathing tone of voice that the students at Hogwarts were so familiar with, and Aric found himself flushing, because he had not been aware that it was part of the act, either, although as a Slytherin, he should have known better. The timing of the dancers had been so flawless that he should have realized that even a small mistake was out of character. How humiliating, to be proven as dense as a Gryffindor!

"I confess," Tsubasa laughed, the polite mask on his face slipping into something more natural. "Yes, it was staged, to make the dance more dramatic. My companions chose me for the role because they said that my hair was the longest, so I could best afford to lose a little of it."

Takeshi, Lupin, and Dumbledore laughed along with him, while Snape smiled smugly, looking pleased to have been proven right. Aric was still feeling a little chagrined, but he laughed along with the others.

"Well, I suppose we should get down to business," Dumbledore said, and Aric thought, _Finally!_ He noticed that Takeshi, despite his outward pose of indifference, leaned in a little closer, as if not wanting to miss any of the conversation.

"I would like to offer you a position at Hogwarts as the Transfiguration Professor," Dumbledore continued.

If Tsubasa looked startled, both Takeshi and Aric were outright shocked. "What about McGonagall?" Aric asked. "Is she retiring?"

"That's Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore gently chided. "But to answer your question, Aric, she is not the one retiring. I am."

"What?!" Takeshi and Aric both exclaimed. "But you've been there forever!" Aric blurted out without thinking. 

"Yes, I know that I'm as old as the hills," Dumbledore said with an amused smile. "Which is all the more reason for me to retire."

"What he meant was, we just can't picture Hogwarts without you, Headmaster," Takeshi said tactfully.

"Hogwarts will do well enough without me," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I am sure that Professor McGonagall will make a fine Headmistress, and you must remember, I am over a hundred and fifty years old now--closer to a hundred and sixty, in fact! Surely this old man has earned the right to a little relaxation."

"Oh, of course!" Takeshi said hastily. "No one would deny that. But...what will you do when you retire?"

"Oh, some fishing, perhaps," Dumbledore said vaguely. "Catch up on my reading--I'm several decades behind. Knit some socks."

"Socks?" Aric asked incredulously.

"One can never have too many socks, Mr. Dietrich," the Headmaster assured him in a cheery voice.

"Socks," Aric muttered under his breath, wondering if the old man had lost it. Maybe it was time for him to retire, after all.

"But I am not retiring just yet," Dumbledore continued. "I plan to remain at Hogwarts for one more year, to help our newest instructor, Mr. Zabini, get settled into his position. I had intended to take my time searching for a new Transfiguration Professor, but if there is already an ideal candidate available, why wait?" Dumbledore smiled at Tsubasa. "It might actually be beneficial to have you and Professor McGonagall working together during the next year, as a kind of transition period--if you are willing to accept the position, of course."

"Forgive me, but I don't understand," Tsubasa said, staring at Dumbledore in confusion. "There must many qualified candidates in Britain already; why seek abroad for a replacement? Surely you aren't offering me the position just because I Transfigured that toy into a dragonfly for the children at the wedding!"

"It really was quite impressive, though," Lupin said with a smile. "It takes skill to Transfigure an inanimate object into an animate creature, even temporarily."

"I contacted your old teachers at Salem," Dumbledore told Tsubasa. "They assured me that you were a very talented student, and that you were offered a number of prestigious apprenticeships in the U.S. after you graduated, including an assistant teaching position at Salem, but you turned them down to return to Japan with your family. You've been training in martial arts and weaponry with the tengu, but according to Professor Kamiyama, you've also continued your magical studies. And you have experience as a teacher--"

"Teaching fencing, not magic," Tsubasa protested.

"Oh, I hear that you informally teach the tengu children a bit of magic as well," Dumbledore said. "But actually, it really was the dragonfly incident that convinced me that you are the right person for the job, Tsubasa-san. Not because it demonstrated your skill with magic--although it is, as Remus says, quite impressive--but because it demonstrated how well you work with children. And you could also teach your original subject, if you wish. I spoke to our Physical Defense instructor, Master Diggory, and he said that he would welcome your assistance. His wife is pregnant, and he would like to take some time off when she is ready to give birth, so we could use a substitute instructor for perhaps a few months. He also says that a few of his most talented students could benefit from advanced lessons that only someone with formal training could give. You would, of course, be paid extra for any additional duties outside of your Transfiguration lessons."

Tsubasa just stared at him, looking a little stunned. "I...I don't know what to say," he stammered. "I am flattered by the offer, but I never really considered leaving Japan to work in another country. I assume that this is a permanent position?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I do not wish to announce my retirement in advance, so you would officially be working as Professor McGonagall's assistant for one year. But after she becomes Headmistress, you would become the Transfiguration Professor." 

Tsubasa hesitated, and Dumbledore continued, "Of course, if you find that you are unable to bear living away from your homeland, we would not try to hold you against your will. I propose that we draw up a temporary contract of one year, to be extended at the end of that year if both parties are in agreement. That would enable you to return home to Japan without dishonor if life in Britain is not to your liking. But if you choose to accept the position, it should be with the intention that we will work towards making the arrangement a permanent one."

"I understand," Tsubasa said solemnly. "If I enter the contract, it shall be in good faith. But this is a major decision...I need some time to think it over and discuss it with my family."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "Please take your time. I'll be returning to Hogwarts today, so when you make your decision, you can contact me at the school. Remus and Severus, or Mr. Kimura and his family know how to reach me."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Tsubasa said, bowing. "I promise that I will give serious thought to the matter."

Dumbledore bowed in return, then got to his feet with Lupin's help, making a joke about his "creaky old bones," and Disapparated.

"You recommended Tsubasa to the Headmaster, didn't you, Remus?" Takeshi asked almost accusingly.

"Yes," Lupin admitted, grinning a little sheepishly. "I admit that I was meddling again; it's a bad Gryffindor habit. Are you upset?"

Takeshi smiled and shook his head. "I must admit, it would be nice to have my cousin living in Britain." He turned to Tsubasa and said, "Aric and I could show you around Hogsmeade and London, and you could have dinner at the Sakura whenever you like. But of course it is your decision, Tsubasa-nii."

It suddenly occurred to Aric that it might be to his advantage if Tsubasa accepted the job. Takeshi spent a lot of time with the werewolves, and it would be natural for him to introduce his cousin to some fellow shapeshifters. And it certainly couldn't hurt to have a young, handsome, and single gay man around to distract Ash's attention away from Takeshi. Then they could all be friends without Aric having to feel jealous of his rival.

"You should definitely accept the position!" Aric said enthusiastically. "You'd be a great teacher, and Takeshi would be happy to have his favorite cousin around, and I'd be happy to have a sparring partner!"

Lupin gave Aric a slightly quizzical smile, while Snape gave him a suspicious look. "I certainly hope that you'll join us at Hogwarts," Lupin told Tsubasa. "I look forward to working with you. But I understand that it must be a difficult decision. It's a major change, moving to another country..."

"But you could use the Portkey at the Sakura to go back home for a visit anytime you wanted!" Aric pointed out. "It's not like you'd be cut off from Japan permanently."

"That is true," Tsubasa conceded. "But still, it is a major decision...a commitment that would last for many years. I need some time to consider it." There was a very pensive, almost sad look on his face that Aric didn't understand. Then Tsubasa smiled, and his face settled back into a polite mask. "For now, why don't I show Professor Lupin how to make a take-tonbo, as I promised, and you can all tell me about Hogwarts."

"Of course, but please call me 'Remus,'" Lupin said with a friendly smile.

"Then you may call me by name as well," Tsubasa said. "You needn't bother with 'san' or 'sensei'; my sensibilities aren't as delicate as most of the other cranes." 

"Do the shapeshifters not have last names?" Aric asked curiously. He noticed that the cranes and tengu seemed to be called only by their given names, and Master Satoshi, who was a tanuki, went by only one name as well. The Kamiyamas, who were kitsune, had surnames, but perhaps that was because they were trying to pass as human among the Muggles who lived near the temple.

"Our clan is small enough that individuals don't really need a family name to be identified," Tsubasa explained. "Everyone in the valley knows everyone else by face and name. Generally, only those of us who are part-human or who live among humans use a surname. In a very formal situation, I might be introduced as Tsubasa-son-of-Yokuto-of-the-crane-clan, but in general, I am simply 'Tsubasa'."

"And technically, our last names are our first names," Takeshi added. "In Japan, the surname is given first, so here I am 'Kimura Takeshi' instead of 'Takeshi Kimura'."

"The names are given in order of importance," Tsubasa explained. "Family or clan first, and then the individual."

"Ah, I see," Aric said. "The purebloods back home are like that, too--the family name and bloodline are more important than anything else." Important enough that they would turn their backs on a son who might sully that bloodline, Aric couldn't help but think with a touch of bitterness, but when he looked at Takeshi it reminded him that he had gained much more than he had lost, and the bitterness eased.

Tsubasa showed Lupin how to make the take-tonbo, and while Lupin whittled the dragonfly wings into shape, he and Snape told Tsubasa about the curriculum at Hogwarts; Aric and Takeshi occasionally interjected a comment about what it was like from a student's point of view. Tsubasa said that it sounded similar to the education he had received at Salem, for the most part.

"The curriculum is basically the same in America," he said. "They use the traditional Latin spells, and follow the teachings of Merlin. The rules are a bit more relaxed, though. The students are allowed weekend passes to leave the school to visit their families or to go on day trips to the neighboring village. And we didn't have Houses. There was a bit of competition between the different dorms, but the dorm assignments were by random selection."

"It was sort of like that at Durmstrang," Aric said. "But then, Durmstrang was essentially one big Slytherin House."

"Doesn't it make more sense to group the students together by aptitude?" Snape argued.

Tsubasa smiled politely and shrugged. "The Americans believe in focusing on the individual over the group. In theory, each student is supposed to be unique. In practice, the students do tend to form cliques based on their backgrounds, abilities, and personalities."

"I suppose it's the same everywhere, to a greater or lesser degree," Lupin said with a pleasant smile. "Ah, I think I've got it!" He put the completed tonbo together, spun it between his hands, and tossed it up in the air, laughing as delightedly as the children in the courtyard had as he watched it fly.

"It takes so little to amuse a Gryffindor," Snape muttered under his breath. The wooden dragonfly flew nicely until it struck the wall and fell to the floor, and Snape added in a dry voice, "You might want to do that outside, Lupin."

"Oops," Lupin said, smiling sheepishly at Takeshi.

"It's all right, Remus," the mediwizard laughed. "There's no harm done, to either the tonbo or the wall."

"Still, I think Severus is right," Lupin said, getting up to pick up his fallen toy. "I should take this outside." He grinned impishly. "Perhaps I can find some children my own age to play with."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Are you speaking of your chronological age or your childish mentality, Lupin?"

"I would say that I am youthful at heart, Severus," Lupin said lightly. "Thank you for this," he said to Tsubasa, twirling the tonbo between his fingers. "I hope that we'll see you at Hogwarts in the fall."

"Perhaps," Tsubasa said, in a polite but noncommittal tone of voice.

Lupin and Snape bowed to him and prepared to leave, when Takeshi called out, "Professors, you'll come to the Tanabata festival this evening, won't you?"

"Festival?" Aric asked, startled.

"Didn't I mention it?" Takeshi said, and Aric shook his head. "I guess with all the excitement of the wedding, I forgot."

"What sort of festival is it?" Lupin asked eagerly, while Snape had a slightly pained expression on his face that seemed to say, "Not another party!"

"It's the festival of the Star Lovers," Takeshi started to reply, and Aric interrupted, "Oh, I remember now! It's that fairy tale you told me, about the Weaver and the Herdsman who can only meet once a year."

"I don't think I know that tale," Lupin said, looking intrigued, so Takeshi told him the story of how the lovers Orihime, the Weaver, and Hikoboshi, the Herdsman, were separated because they neglected their duties after they married, and thereafter were only allowed to meet once every year, on the seventh day of the seventh month.

"So every year, the birds form a bridge across the Celestial River so that the lovers can meet," Takeshi finished. "But only if the sky is clear; if it rains, the birds are unable to form the bridge, and the lovers must wait for another year."

"Such a lovely and sad story," Lupin murmured.

Tsubasa smiled affectionately at his cousin. "As I recall, it was always one of your favorite stories, and Tanabata was always your favorite festival. I remember that you cried one year when it rained, because you thought that the lovers wouldn't be able to meet."

Takeshi grinned sheepishly. "Yes, I remember that; in my defense, I was only five years old. Okaasan had to tell me that it was only a story, but I still felt bad for Orihime and Hikoboshi." He added, in a mock-accusing tone, "You and Niisan teased me about it."

"We did," Tsubasa admitted with an apologetic smile. He informed Aric, "Takeshi was a very sensitive child, and Ichiro and I were several years older, and we liked to tease him a bit. But when he wouldn't stop crying, we felt bad..."

"So the two of you bought me some candy and a pair of goldfish at the festival to cheer me up," Takeshi finished, smiling nostalgically.

"And you named the fish 'Orihime' and 'Hikoboshi!'" Tsubasa laughed.

Takeshi laughed along with him, then said to Aric, "They weren't really so bad for older brothers. Or rather, an older brother and older cousin. They teased me a little, as older brothers do, but mostly they were nice to me."   
"My older sister used to pick on me when we were small," Aric said. "But I don't think that she ever felt guilty about it!"

The others all laughed, and Lupin and Snape departed, promising to come back for the festival. Tsubasa left as well, still looking a little pensive.

"Is something wrong?" Aric asked Takeshi. "Your cousin seems...not upset, exactly, but..." His voice trailed off, unable to find the right words. "I mean, he doesn't have to accept the job if he doesn't want it. The Headmaster and Lupin would be disappointed, but I'm sure they wouldn't hold it against him."  
 Takeshi smiled a little sadly. "Tsubasa is like me, I think. He spent too much time abroad to properly fit in when he returned home, which is why he no longer lives in the valley. Perhaps this job offer is a good thing, a chance for him to make a fresh start somewhere new. At the same time, it won't be easy for him to leave behind his homeland and start over in a foreign country."

"I see," Aric said, now able to put a word to the expression on Tsubasa's face: conflicted. "I can relate to that," he said with heartfelt empathy. It hadn't been easy to leave behind his old life as the Dietrich heir, even if he had done so willingly. "Well then," Aric said, smiling a bit ruefully, "he should fit right in with rest of us. When you think about it, we're all kind of misfits, aren't we? You, me, the werewolves--even Draco and Narcissa, and Snape and Theo. They may be purebloods, but they don't really fit into pureblood society anymore."

Takeshi laughed gently. "Yes, you're right, my love. We're a pack of misfits, an odd family of sorts, but still a better family than others I could think of, who are tied to each other by blood but not love."   
"I can't argue with that," Aric said, wrapping an arm around his lover.

"I'll try to reassure Tsubasa that our friends will welcome him, and accept him for himself instead of judging him for what he is not," Takeshi said. "But ultimately, the decision is his."

"I know," Aric said. "But I hope he decides to take the job at Hogwarts."

Takeshi smiled lovingly at him. "It makes me happy, my wolf, that you have welcomed my family as your own."

"Your family is my family," Aric said virtuously, although he felt a small twinge of guilt that Slytherin practicality quickly rationalized away. He really did like Tsubasa, after all. And if he hoped to play matchmaker and get rid of a rival by pairing Ash off with Tsubasa, well, where was the harm in that? If the two of them ended up hitting it off and actually got together, then he would have done them both a favor, right? The way Aric saw it, it was a win-win situation for everyone involved. He pulled Takeshi against his chest, hugging him tightly, so that his mate would not see the smug smile that was slowly spreading across his face.

*** 

As they got ready for the festival that night, Aric learned that it was the custom for both sexes to wear a yukata, a light cotton kimono, to these summer festivals. "I borrowed this one for you," Takeshi said, holding up a light blue garment patterned with darker blue stripes. "You're broader of shoulder than most of the crane men, but I believe it should still fit. They're deliberately cut a bit loose, and not meant to be form-fitted the way British robes are."

The yukata fit well enough, and was quite easy to put on, as it was a simple loose robe with no buttons or fastenings, and was held in place only by a cloth sash called an "obi" around the waist. It was sort of like wearing a long bathrobe.

"Are you sure this won't come loose?" Aric asked a bit dubiously, testing the knot on the obi after Takeshi had tied it in place for him. "I don't want to have the yukata fall open and flash everyone at the festival. I feel kind of naked not wearing any pants." He was wearing a pair of undershorts, of course, but no trousers, as the kimono was meant to be worn alone, according to Takeshi.

His lover just laughed. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, my love," Takeshi said, giving Aric an appreciative look. "However, I assure you that I have tied the obi quite securely, as I prefer to...shall we say...keep your charms to myself. Cranes do not share their mates with anyone."

"Neither do wolves," Aric said, nuzzling Takeshi's neck. He looked gorgeous in an indigo yukata with a design of ripples and dragonflies in a lighter blue.

"Do you like it?" Takeshi asked. "Ichiro gave it to me. I thought I'd wear it because it reminded me of the dragonflies that Remus and Tsubasa were making."

"You look great," Aric said, nibbling on Takeshi's earlobe. "Positively delicious, as a matter of fact."

"Stop that, or we'll end up missing the festival," Takeshi laughed, pushing Aric away from him. "Remus was right; you werewolves really are insatiable!"

"I'm just embracing my wolfish nature, the way you said I should," Aric pointed out.

"Well, embrace it after the festival," Takeshi told him firmly. "Tanabata is my favorite festival, and I don't intend to miss it."

"Not even for amazing sex?" Aric whined.

"Not even for that," Takeshi said sweetly, giving him a light peck on the lips. "Seeing as how we just had amazing sex after lunch, I believe that I can manage to hold out for a few more hours before we repeat the experience."

"What's amazing is how you can manage to sound so sweet while being so sarcastic," Aric grumbled. Takeshi laughed again, and then they headed to the festival with Isamu and Haruko. 

Takeshi had given Aric a pair of zori sandals to wear in place of his usual shoes; they looked sort of like the flip-flops that one might wear to the beach, except that they were made of woven straw instead of rubber, with a cloth thong. Aric wiggled his toes and joked, "Even my feet feel underdressed!" 

But he had to admit that the yukata was much cooler in the summer heat than a robe and shirt and trousers would have been. And then he had to try not to think about how little Takeshi was wearing beneath his own yukata because that mental image filled Aric with the desire to grab his mate, toss him over his shoulder, and carry him back to the house for a night of lovemaking, festival be damned. A feral, hungry smile spread across his face, and Takeshi glanced his way, looking amused but a little nervous at the same time.

"You're thinking something dirty, my wolf," Takeshi whispered accusingly.

Aric didn't even try to deny it. "Yes, I am," he purred in a low, husky voice and gave Takeshi a lascivious look that made him blush.

"Well, cut it out," Takeshi whispered, still blushing. "Because there are children present."

At that very moment, Ichiro's twin daughters came running up, shouting, "Takeshi-niisan! Aric-niisan!" They squealed with delight when Aric picked them up and tossed them up in the air the way Lukas always did with the young cubs in the pack. He probably could have done it even as a normal human--he'd developed a lot of strength in his upper body while playing as a Beater on the Durmstrang Quidditch team--but with his new werewolf strength, the girls felt as light as feathers to him.

"Oh my!" Kaori gasped, laughing nervously.

"Stop that, Aric, before you give their mother a heart attack," Takeshi gently scolded.

Aric set them back down on the ground, and each twin grabbed one of his hands and pulled him along, eager to show him around the festival grounds. The shore by the lake had been transformed into an outdoor carnival, and there were game booths and food stalls that would not have been out of place at an English carnival or fair. The decorations were unique, though: strings of colorful origami cranes hanging from poles, and arches hung with huge ball-shaped ornaments that dangled long, brightly-colored streamers. Aric found it a little surreal, as they reminded him of giant jellyfish or octopuses (or was it octopi, he wondered)--if jellyfish or octopuses were red and green and blue and yellow and pink, that is.

"The streamers are supposed to be the threads that Orihime weaves," Takeshi explained, noticing his puzzled look.

"I know that 'hime' means 'princess,' because I've heard you call Princess Chizuru that," Aric said thoughtfully. "So does 'ori' mean 'weaver'?"

"Exactly!" Takeshi said, smiling at him approvingly. "You'll notice that many of the crane women have 'ori' in their names, like Kaori-neesan, or her mother Shiori."

"Many of the cranes also have names that refer to flight or the sky," Ichiro added. He affectionately placed a hand first on one twin's head and then the other's. "Kumi's name means 'beautiful sky'. And the 'sho' in 'Shoko' means 'to fly up'. And Tsubasa and Yokuto-oji both have the same kanji character in their names, which means 'wing'." He murmured a charm under his breath and the tip of his finger started to glow; his finger left behind a trail of glowing light as he sketched a complicated character in the air. It hung in midair for a moment before vanishing. "It's written the same way but pronounced differently in the two names."

"Ah," Aric said politely. He was just beginning to grasp the concept of spoken Japanese; learning to read and write it was obviously going to be much more difficult. "And what do your names mean?" he asked Takeshi and his brother. "Wing? Feathers? Flight?"

"Nothing very poetic in my case," Ichiro said with a smile. "'Ichi' means 'one,' so it's a name commonly given to firstborn sons."

"Takeshi's name means 'strength,'" Haruko said, smiling at her youngest son fondly. 

"It's a good name," Aric said, and he realized that it was surprisingly appropriate. His mate had a core of inner strength that was far greater than Aric's physical werewolf strength. Takeshi had the strength to stand by his beliefs; he had befriended the werewolves before it had been fashionable to do so--indeed, at times, it had even been dangerous. He was true to himself, and didn't try to pretend to be something he wasn't to better fit into society, unlike his craven ex-boyfriends. 

And Aric didn't think that he would have been able to handle becoming a werewolf and losing his family without Takeshi's support. _You are my strength,_ Aric silently told his mate, not wanting to speak such intimate words out loud while they were surrounded by the crowd of festival-goers, but his eyes must have conveyed his words eloquently enough, because Takeshi smiled tenderly at him and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment.

They continued wandering through the festival grounds, and met up with Snape and Lupin along the way. There were several booths with familiar carnival games, which apparently were the same around the world--throwing darts to pop balloons, or throwing a ball to knock over a stack of blocks. They all tried their hand at the games, except for Snape, who of course declined to participate, but Aric proved to be the most successful at them. He bestowed his prizes--mainly stuffed animals and other small toys--upon the delighted twins. 

After they tired of playing games, they went to take a look at the food stalls. Aric felt a sudden pang of wistful nostalgia as they bought some cotton candy for the twins; he remembered his parents buying cotton candy for him and Erika at a carnival they had gone to many years ago. Still, he couldn't help but smile a little when he saw Lupin buy a stick of cotton candy for himself; despite being a teacher and a parent, the werewolf still retained an air of boyish mischief, and it was not difficult to imagine what he must have been like as a student at Hogwarts.

"Do you want some, Sev?" Lupin cheerfully offered, and Snape shook his head, a disdainful look on his face. "Are you sure?" Lupin asked. "I thought you loved sweets. Or are you afraid that your image as the big bad Potions Master will be ruined if people see you walking around a fair eating cotton candy?"

Aric had to choke back a laugh at the mental image of Snape in his sinister-looking black robes, walking around with a stick of fluffy, pink spun-sugar candy. Snape glowered at both Aric and Lupin, then said icily, "While I do, from time to time, indulge in gourmet chocolates, I do not care for cotton candy, Lupin."

"You don't know what you're missing," Lupin said with a shrug. "But it's your loss." He pulled a wad of candy off the stick and popped it into his mouth, slowly licking the sugar off his fingers in a sensual manner that made Aric blush and caused Ichiro and Kaori to hastily rush the twins ahead to the next stall.

"Lupin!" Snape hissed, his pale face turning scarlet. "Will you cut that out?"

"Cut what out, Sev?" Lupin asked in a puzzled voice, with a look of a wide-eyed innocence.

"Perhaps we'd better give the Professors a little privacy," Takeshi whispered to Aric, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. "I think I'd prefer something more substantial than cotton candy, anyway."

Aric nodded in agreement, his stomach rumbling slightly as his nose picked up the scent of grilled meat. But it was difficult to banish that image of Lupin licking his fingers from his mind. Not that he really wanted to think of one of his teachers in that manner, but it did give him some ideas... 

"Maybe we could pick up some cotton candy afterwards to take home with us," Aric said to his mate with a suggestive smile.

Takeshi blushed, then shook his head and laughed, "I'm beginning to suspect that all you werewolves think alike!"

"It's Lupin's fault," Aric protested. "He's a corrupting influence on impressionable young students."

"Somehow the words 'impressionable' and 'Slytherin' just don't seem to go together," Takeshi said wryly.

They slowly walked past stalls selling grilled meat and fish, or roasted corn-on-the-cob, trying to decide what they wanted to eat; it all smelled wonderful to Aric. And then they passed by a stall that was selling what looked like little balls of fried batter.

"Ah, takoyaki!" Takeshi exclaimed happily. "I haven't had that in ages, not since last summer, as a matter of fact. It's not the sort of thing you can find in London. Two orders, please."

The vendor handed him two plates filled with the little fried balls, along with a couple of toothpicks. Aric followed Takeshi's example, using the toothpick to spear a ball and pop it into his mouth. It was definitely fried batter, mixed with small chunks of something that was chewy and tasted sort of fishy. A little unusual, but tasty. 

"So what exactly is takoyaki?" Aric asked curiously, swallowing the first ball and popping another into his mouth. 

"Oh, 'tako' means 'octopus' in Japanese," Takeshi said cheerfully. "It's chopped octopus fried in batter."

Aric had just started to swallow when he heard Takeshi's reply, and he started to gag and cough as the lump of food got stuck halfway down his throat while his body tried to decide whether it wanted to swallow the takoyaki or spit it back up. Both Takeshi and Ichiro burst into laughter, and Kaori gave them a reproving look while trying--not very successfully--to fight back a smile.

"You should have warned him what it was, Takeshi-kun," she gently scolded. "You know that most gaijin are squeamish about such things."

"It's one of my favorite foods," Takeshi protested innocently. "I thought he would like it. In fact, he did like it until I told him what it was. I don't see what the big deal is."

Aric finally managed to swallow the bit of takoyaki, although he still felt kind of queasy, then stammered, "But...but...octopuses...octopi?...have tentacles! Tentacles with big suckers! How can you eat something like that? It's like eating the giant squid in the lake at Hogwarts!"

Takeshi and his family all looked vastly amused by Aric's reaction; even the little twins giggled.

"Actually, an octopus and a squid are two different species," Ichiro helpfully informed him. 

"But if it was a giant octopus in the lake instead of a squid, just imagine how much takoyaki we could make with it!" Takeshi laughed. "Enough to feed the entire school!"

Aric glared at his mate, who just grinned back at him. "Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?" Aric demanded.

"Oh, come on, you British eat weird things, too," Takeshi said. "Blood pudding, for one thing."

"I don't eat blood pudding," Aric protested.

Lupin chuckled good-naturedly and plucked a takoyaki ball from Aric's plate. He popped it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then said, "Hmm, not bad. It really is quite tasty."

"Here, you can have it," Aric said, handing him the plate.

Surprisingly, he got a bit of sympathy from Snape, of all people. "I wouldn't it eat it, either," the Potions Master told him. "Octopi are carrion eaters. I wouldn't care to eat an animal that feeds on garbage, essentially."

"I didn't know that," Lupin said, looking curious. "That they were carrion eaters, I mean." The idea didn't seem to bother him, though, as he continued eating the takoyaki.

"Octopus ink is used as an ingredient in several potions," Snape said, then apparently couldn't resist adding in a patronizing tone of voice, "Which you would know if you had paid more attention in Potions class, Lupin." Lupin just chuckled again. "In any case," Snape continued, "I made a point of studying, not just about potion ingredients, but the plants and animals that provide them."

"Very thorough of you, Severus," Lupin said with a smile.

"Of course," Snape said, sounding a little offended at the idea of anyone thinking of him as less than thorough.

"Come, my wolf, let's find you something else to eat," Takeshi laughed, taking Aric by the arm.

"Oh look!" Lupin said, hurrying over to another food stall. "This one is selling roasted squid!" He wasn't joking; the stall really was selling tiny squids cooked on skewers, not just chopped pieces but the entire body--head, tentacles, and all.

"Now that really would be like eating the squid in the lake!" Aric said, shuddering slightly. "Or worse, its babies. I'd be afraid to ever walk by the lake again!" He had a sudden vision of an angry giant squid on a rampage, seeking vengeance for its lost children. 

Lupin tried a roasted squid and pronounced it delicious, taking a big bite out of the head as Aric shuddered again, which in turn caused Ichiro and Takeshi to burst into laughter once more. After Takeshi finally stopped laughing, he took pity on his mate and bought him some grilled beef at another stall.

Thus fortified, Aric was ready to continue exploring the festival. Two small, sticky hands grabbed his, and the twins eagerly cried, "Let's go write our wishes now, Aric-niisan!" 

Takeshi explained to Lupin and Snape about the custom of writing wishes on pieces of paper and hanging them from bamboo branches, while Shoko and Kumi hauled Aric over to an area in the middle of the festival grounds where a temporary grove of bamboo branches had been set up. There was a table next to it where blank paper slips attached to bits of string had been laid out, along with calligraphy brushes and bottles of ink.

Giggling, the girls wrote out their wishes and hung them on the branches. As the rest of the Kimuras wrote out their wishes, Aric peered over Takeshi's shoulder to watch as he wrote out his wish, but couldn't read it, as it was written in Japanese. Aric picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, wondering what he ought to wish for. He already had the thing he wanted most in the world, which was, of course, Takeshi. 

Should he wish for a reconciliation with his parents and grandparents? But that would probably take a miracle, or at least an Imperius Curse, and Aric thought that it would probably be asking too much of a simple wish that wasn't meant to be taken seriously. So he finally wrote, "To get to know my new family better, and be a good mate, son, brother, and uncle to them," using both sides of the paper tag to fit all that in; Takeshi smiled at him tenderly when he saw it.

"So what sorts of things do people wish for?" Lupin asked curiously.

"The children usually wish for things like new toys or clothes," Takeshi replied. "Teenagers often wish for spending money, success on their exams, or success at love. Many adults wish for the latter as well. It is a festival celebrating two lovers, after all." Then he grinned and laughed, "Every year, I would always write, 'I wish to find my true love'!"

"He's always been a romantic, ever since he was a little boy," Ichiro said, smiling at his brother fondly. "It's all those fairy tales that our mother told us when we were children."

"They didn't seem to have the same effect on you," Haruko said, laughing gently.

"Oh, I believed in true love, too," Ichiro said, smiling at Kaori, who smiled back at him. "But I had faith that it would find me when the time was right. I didn't feel the need to go seeking it out."

Lupin smiled and wrote down something in Japanese on one of the paper tags, hung it up with the others, then turned to Snape and asked, "Aren't you going to write one, too, Severus?"

"No," Snape replied curtly, giving Lupin a look that seemed to say, "You've got to be kidding."

"Oh, come on, Sev," Lupin wheedled. "Everyone else has. This is a festival, after all; we're supposed to be having fun! Don't be such a spoilsport."

"Oh, the Professor doesn't have to participate if he doesn't want to," Haruko hastily assured him.

"Never mind, Haruko," Snape sighed in a resigned voice. "It's easier to just humor the werewolf, otherwise he'll nag me about it all night." And he filled out one of the wish tags, bending over it as he wrote to shield it from prying eyes (mainly Lupin's, although Aric tried unsuccessfully to sneak a peek at it without being obvious). Then Snape folded it up to hide what he wrote and hung it from a branch.

"So what did you wish for?" Lupin asked, still smiling mischievously.

"None of your business," Snape replied coolly.

"Are the wishes supposed to be secret?" Aric asked. "Like when you blow out the candles on a birthday cake?"

"Hardly," Takeshi laughed. "They're hung out in public where anyone can read them, after all." When Snape glared at him, he quickly added, "Although you don't have to tell anyone what you wished for if you don't want to."

"Well, I wished for a new kimono!" Kumi announced. 

"And I wished for a goldfish!" Shoko chimed in. 

Their parents laughed. "Well, a new kimono can be arranged, although it will take some time to weave," Ichiro said.

"But a goldfish--I think we can make that wish come true now," Takeshi said with a grin. The girls squealed with delight, and Aric found himself being dragged back to the game booths. Goldfish-catching was a popular festival game, Takeshi informed him. You purchased a net from the vendor and used it to scoop up goldfish from a large, shallow tub of water. You could keep as many goldfish as you caught, which sounded too good to be true, and indeed, Aric quickly learned that the game wasn't as easy as it looked. 

The net, which was actually shaped more like a small flat paddle, was made of paper stretched over a wire frame, and would quickly tear once it got wet. Aric broke three nets in a row, the goldfish falling right through the wet paper. However, he didn't feel too badly, because the others weren't doing much better. They bought a couple of nets for the girls, obviously more to let them have fun trying than out of any expectation of success, and Ichiro and Takeshi each broke a couple of nets before Ichiro finally managed to catch a fish.

"The trick is to flip the fish out of the water quickly before the net has time to tear," Takeshi explained. 

"Wouldn't it be easier--not to mention cheaper--to just go to a pet store and buy a fish?" Aric asked.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Lupin laughed. Kumi now wanted a goldfish, too, in spite of her wish for a kimono, so Lupin took a turn trying to catch a fish, but was as unsuccessful as Aric.

"Oh, for pity's sake, we'll be here all night at this rate," Snape said. And to everyone's amazement, he took a net and flipped a goldfish out of the tub with a quick flick of his wrist on his very first try. The twins applauded, and even the adults looked impressed.

"Have you ever played this game before, Professor?" Takeshi asked.

"Of course not," Snape replied in a scornful voice, but he looked a little smug, as if he were secretly pleased by the others' admiration. "But some of my potion ingredients do come from living creatures, and although I buy most of them at Slug and Jiggers, it is occasionally necessary for me to catch my own ingredients. Or sometimes a specimen will escape from its cage--often with a little help from a student. Usually a Gryffindor student."

"Only a Gryffindor would be brave enough and foolish enough to dare the Potions Master's wrath," Takeshi laughed.

"Quite true, Mr. Kimura," Snape agreed, his normally sour face relaxing slightly and easing into a faint smile. "But for whatever reason, it is sometimes necessary for me to catch my potion ingredients, which requires quick reflexes. It wasn't really that difficult to scoop up the fish; a quick flick of the wrist is all that's required. Actually, it reminds of me of what Flitwick always tells his first-year classes--"

"Swish and flick!" Lupin and Takeshi chorused, then burst into laughter. Noticing the puzzled looks on his family's faces, Takeshi added, "It's something the Charms Professor at Hogwarts always says. I guess you'd have to be a Hogwarts student to understand."

"Thank Snape-sensei for the goldfish, Kumi-chan," Kaori instructed her daughter.

"Thank you, Sensei," Kumi said obediently. "I like my fish; he's very pretty." And then she impulsively threw her arms around Snape.

"You're...ah...welcome," a flustered Snape said as Lupin doubled over, laughing hysterically. Snape glared at his lover, then hissed out of the corner of his mouth, "Kimura! Will you please remove this child?"

As if she were some sort of unwanted growth, like a limpet or fungus, Aric thought with amusement, although the Potions Master probably had a higher opinion of fungi than he did of young children. Fungi at least could be used as potion ingredients.

"Sorry, Professor," Takeshi said, the expression on his face hovering somewhere between laughter and fear as he gently detached his niece from Snape.

"I like your sensei," Kumi whispered to Takeshi. "Is he one of Tsubasa-niisan's tengu friends?"

Aric realized that Snape's black hair and beaky nose did make him look rather like a tengu, and had to bite down hard on his lower lip to keep from laughing out loud; Lupin had no such reservations and continued laughing so hard that he was having trouble catching his breath. Takeshi cast a nervous glance towards his former Professor, whose face had turned red and whose black eyes were glittering dangerously, then said hastily, "No, Professor Snape is quite human, Kumi-chan." Some of the students at Hogwarts would no doubt beg to differ on that, but Aric thought it was probably wiser to keep that observation to himself.

"Well, it's getting late," Ichiro said pleasantly. "I think it's time to get the twins home and into bed."

"I'm not sleepy!" Kumi protested, then spoiled her argument by yawning widely.

"Bedtime," Ichiro said firmly, gathering his daughter up in his arms, and this time she didn't protest.

Shoko was yawning too by now, and Kaori's arms were full, carrying the bowl with the twins' goldfish and the other prizes that Aric had won them, so he picked up the little girl and started to lift her up onto his shoulders. "Here, I'll carry her home; I don't think that either of them will be up to walking."

"Let me take her," Isamu offered. "You and Takeshi should stay and enjoy the festival."

So the rest of the Kimuras went home, and Snape said that he'd also "had enough festivity for one night," giving his lover an icy look. They said goodnight, and the two Professors left, with Lupin still struggling to get his laughter under control.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me," Aric said to Takeshi. He felt a little odd as it suddenly occurred to him that with the two of them alone at the festival, it was almost like going out on a date. They had become lovers and were now living together, but they never gone out on a real "date" together before. Or did the hikes and picnics count as dates, he wondered. He looked around and saw many young couples walking together hand-in-hand. "Would anyone care if...well...?" Aric asked hesitantly, then reached out and grasped Takeshi's hand.

"No, my love," Takeshi said, smiling at him tenderly. "The crane folk have no prohibitions against same-sex romances. No one will care."

"Good," Aric said, and they leisurely strolled through the festival grounds. Aric felt a bit self-conscious, but it also felt good to be holding his mate's hand, and when no one paid any attention to them, he began to relax. "So what do you want to do next?" Aric asked. "Shall we play some more games?"

"Will you show off your prowess and win me a prize, my wolf?" Takeshi teased.

"Sure," Aric replied with a grin. "So long as you don't want a goldfish! How about a teddy bear? Let's go try that dart game again." Laughing together, they headed over to the game booth, and Aric asked curiously, "By the way, what did you wish for?"

"For continued happiness with my true love," Takeshi replied, smiling at him tenderly. "And you?" Aric told him what he'd written on the wish tag, and Takeshi whispered, "You're already the best mate that anyone could ever wish for, Aric. I love you."

Aric pulled Takeshi into his arms and kissed him, right there in the middle of the crowd of festival-goers, no longer caring what anyone thought of them, ignoring the stares and whispers and giggles that they attracted. As Takeshi kissed him back, he felt his spirit soar, as if he were being borne aloft by the birds of the Tanabata legend, who formed the bridge every year for Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet. Except that he had Takeshi not just for one day out of the year, but every day for the rest of their lives, and that realization brought tears of joy to Aric's eyes. And for just a moment, the crowd around them seemed to disappear, and Aric forgot about everything except his mate, as if they were the only two people in the world...

*** 

"Young people these days," Kazuhiko grumbled as he walked past the two oblivious young lovers. "No sense of decorum."

Yokuto, Reiko, and Tsubasa also happened to be passing by, and Yokuto laughed, smiling indulgently at the pair. "No one has a sense of decorum when they're young and in love, Kazuhiko-sama. As a matter of fact, I seem to recall a young man who would stand outside the bedroom window of his beloved and recite poetry to her."

Kazuhiko flushed, then sighed in a resigned manner. "Young lovers must always be dramatic, I suppose...but did Takeshi really have to choose a wolf as a mate?"

"Rather than saying that he chose Aric, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they were chosen for each other," Tsubasa said, his voice carefully neutral. "It is fate; who can argue against that?"

"You're a fine one to talk, Tsubasa-kun," Kazuhiko said, a bit waspishly. "Do you really think that you will find your mate among the tengu?" He turned and stalked off without waiting for a reply.

"All the recent changes have put him in a bad mood," Yokuto told his son apologetically, switching to English although they had been speaking Japanese with Kazuhiko. The family had gotten into the habit of speaking it among themselves since it was Reiko's first language, although she spoke fluent Japanese. "He's just taking his frustration out on you."

"He's always in a bad mood," Reiko said with a wry smile.

"Well, in a worse mood than usual, then," Yokuto amended. "He wasn't always this way, though. He was adventurous as a boy, even spent some time studying and traveling in the human world. But the violence that he saw there frightened him, and he returned to the valley convinced that we needed to remain isolated for our own protection."

"There will always be violence in the world," Tsubasa replied. "And I would rather learn to defend myself than to hide. But Kazuhiko is right about one thing--I don't think that I will find my mate among the tengu. I have been living with them for a decade, and I haven't met anyone that I care for as more than a friend."

"You will find the right person when it is time, dear," Reiko said gently, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm.

"But there is no one in the valley who seems suited to him, either," Yokuto said, frowning worriedly for a moment. Then he smiled at his wife and said, "Perhaps his love will come to him from across the seas, as you came to me, my beloved?"

"Or perhaps it is I who am meant to cross the seas," Tsubasa said, and explained about Dumbledore's job offer.

"We would miss you, of course, but perhaps this is meant to be," Yokuto said, the expression on his face brightening. "I didn't want to trouble you with my concerns, but it has worried me that you have not yet found your mate."

"Of course I would like to find the one who is meant to be my mate," Tsubasa said, looking both amused and a little exasperated. "But if I take the job, it won't be just to expand my dating pool!"

Yokuto smiled sheepishly and Reiko laughed. "Of course not, dear! But I've noticed that you've seemed restless these past few years...maybe a new challenge is what you need."

"I have felt restless," Tsubasa admitted. "The tengu have been good to me, but still...I feel as if I don't quite belong there. I feel as if something is missing, somehow."

"And you are not meant for a quiet, peaceful life in the valley," Yokuto said. "Whatever decision you make, we will support you, my son."

"England is so far away, though," Tsubasa said uncertainly.

"And so is America, but we visit my family all the time," Reiko said briskly. "If you take the job at Hogwarts, then your father and I will use the Portkey to visit you, too." She added with a smile, "In fact, I would love to play tourist and have you show me around London!"

"Thanks, Mom," Tsubasa said, bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "I was afraid that the two of you would be opposed to my taking the job."

"I admit, if you were moving to a place where you have no kin, I would worry," Yokuto said. "But Haruko, Isamu, and Takeshi will be nearby to look after you--and young Aric, too, of course."

"Well, not 'nearby,' precisely," Tsubasa said with a smile. "But definitely within Floo and Apparition range."

"And as Reiko said, we can use the Portkey to visit you," his father continued, then laughed. "It will give us an excuse to sample Isamu's good cooking!"

"Thank you," Tsubasa said. "I need to think about this a little longer, but...I feel like I want to do this. I had never thought of going to Britain before, but now I'm sort of excited about the possibility of going someplace new."

"It will be an adventure, like when we all went to America," Yokuto said. 

"Yes," Tsubasa murmured thoughtfully, his eyes taking on a faraway look, as if he were already looking ahead to England. "An adventure in a new land, a chance to start over again..."

*** 

Meanwhile, Lupin insisted on buying more cotton candy before they left the valley. They Apparated back to the temple grounds, but took a leisurely stroll together before heading back to the house.

"Thank you, Sev," Lupin said between bites of candy. "I know that festivals aren't really your thing, but I did have a very good time tonight." 

Now that they were alone, Snape seemed much more relaxed. "Ah well, it is the sort of thing that would appeal to a Gryffindor," he said in a superior but almost indulgent tone of voice.

"Do you want some?" Lupin asked, offering the stick of cotton candy to Snape, who just sniffed disdainfully. "Aw, come on," Lupin cajoled, waving the candy beneath his nose temptingly. "You know you want it, and there's nobody here to see."

Snape tried to glare at Lupin, but a smile kept tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The way you word that sounds almost obscene, Lupin," he said.

"You have a dirty mind, my love," Lupin laughed. "But you're a Slytherin, so I suppose it can't be helped. Does the color of the candy really bother you that much?" He took out his wand, cast a quick charm, and the spun-sugar confection changed from pink to green. "There! Now you can have no objections, as it's a proper Slytherin green."

Snape burst into laughter, and Lupin beamed happily at having been able to evoke such a response from his normally dour lover. "Oh, very well, Remus, since you're so insistent about it," Snape said, still laughing. Lupin pulled a wad of candy off the stick and held out his hand, then shivered as Snape's mouth closed over his fingers. The sticky candy clung to his fingers, and Snape thoroughly licked off every last grain of sugar from them.

By the time he was done, Lupin's face was looking rather flushed. "Mmm...that was very nice," Lupin murmured. "Although I can think of another part of my body that I'd like you to do that to."

Snape grinned wickedly and retorted, "Now who's the one with the dirty mind?" He pulled a bit of candy off the stick and offered it to Lupin, and they took turns feeding each other the cotton candy, licking and nibbling on each other's fingers. When all the candy was gone, they kissed, slowly and deeply, delighting in the sugary sweetness that lingered in each other's mouths.

"Bed," Lupin whispered in a hoarse voice when they finally pulled apart to come up for air. For once, Snape offered no snide or sarcastic remarks, and they quickly retreated to their room in the Kamiyamas' house and cast a silence spell. (Embarrassment aside, it wouldn't be very polite to keep their hosts up all night with their lovemaking.)

Items of clothing went flying every which way, and soon Lupin was sprawled out on the futon mattress with Snape crouched over him as he honored Lupin's half-joking request. For someone who could normally be so contrary and obstinate, he was applying his lips and tongue quite diligently and enthusiastically to that "other part" of Lupin's body.

A little too enthusiastically, perhaps. The sensation of being engulfed in his lover's mouth, the wet heat of it, was exquisite, not to mention the tantalizing feel of his lover's hair, smooth and sleek, lightly brushing against his thighs--it was all too quickly combining to send Lupin over the edge.

"Ah...ah...so good...too good," Lupin said, his words coming out in gasps as he struggled to catch his breath, panting heavily, like a wolf on the hunt. "Please, Sev...too much...not yet...not yet..." Snape ignored his pleas; if anything, he redoubled his efforts. "Ah! Ah, Severus...please...I'm going to..." The pleasure kept intensifying until it finally went spiraling out of control, like a light summer breeze that had suddenly turned into a whirlwind, and Lupin threw back his head and howled as his body arched up off the mattress.

He froze in that position for a moment, then fell limply back onto the futon as the howl died away and faded into a breathy sigh. Snape looked down at him, smiling smugly as he licked his lips and savored the sight of Lupin sprawled out beneath him, face flushed and eyes half-closed, his gold-and-silver hair fanned out against the white of the sheets, giving the illusion of a halo around his head. He looked like an angel--an angel that had just been thoroughly debauched, that is. Snape's smile grew even smugger.

When he had returned to full consciousness, Lupin gave his lover an accusing look and asked, "What did you do that for?"

Snape raised his eyebrows and replied in a silky voice, "Why, I was just giving you what you asked for, Lupin. Was it not to your liking? You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself a minute ago."

"I was," Lupin said, still sounding a little miffed. "But I wanted to enjoy it with you. I wanted to come with you." He reached up and slowly trailed his hand down Snape's chest and belly, running his fingers through the thick thatch of hair below, until they came to rest on what was by now a sizable erection. Snape shuddered and Lupin smiled, enjoying having turned the tables a bit. He stroked his lover lazily, evoking another shudder, and said, "Giving pleasure without receiving anything in return? How very un-Slytherin of you, Professor Snape."

"So who said I wasn't going to receive anything?" Snape retorted with a wicked grin that began stirring up the beginnings of fresh arousal in Lupin. "Since you are such a demanding lover," Snape continued, "what with all your werewolf hormones, I was merely giving you a head start so that I might be able to keep up with you without collapsing from sheer exhaustion." He leaned down and purred into Lupin's ear, "Rest assured, Professor Lupin, that I intend to receive my fair share of pleasure tonight."

"How very practical of you, Severus," Lupin said in a husky voice; he found that he was having trouble catching his breath again. "I apologize; I should have known better." His fingers began to move less lazily and more purposefully as they continued stroking. "So come and claim your fair share, my dear Slytherin."

"You see?" Snape panted. "You're already getting your second wind." Lupin wrapped his arms around Snape's neck and impatiently pulled him down for a kiss. A long moment later, Snape pulled away slightly, gasping for breath. "I may collapse of exhaustion, after all," he muttered.

"We werewolves are insatiable, after all," Lupin said, grinning wolfishly. 

Much, much later, they both collapsed in mutual exhaustion and lay contentedly in each other's arms. They were just starting to drift off to sleep when Lupin suddenly remembered something that he'd wanted to ask Snape.

"Severus?"

"Not again, Remus," Snape groaned sleepily. "I'm too tired to move."

"No, not that, silly," Lupin chuckled. "You have quite worn me out as well."

"Will miracles never cease?" Snape muttered in a sarcastic but affectionate tone of voice. "Well, what do you want, then?"

"What did you wish for?" Lupin asked.

"Are you still thinking about that?" Snape grumbled. "It's just a silly game for children."

"Aw, come on, Sev," Lupin wheedled in a childish whine, poking Snape in the side with his finger. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"Oh, very well," Snape groaned. "If only so that you'll leave me alone and let me get some sleep! For my wish, I wrote, 'Nothing. I already have everything I want.'"

"Why, that's really rather sweet of you, Severus," Lupin said, smiling at his lover tenderly.

"I take it back, then," Snape said snarkily. "I wish for that new Potions text that I saw in Flourish and Blotts." He paused for a moment, then asked reluctantly, as if loathe to admit that he really was curious, "So what did you wish for?"

"To be by your side always," Lupin replied, serious now, all the laughter and mischief gone from his voice.

Snape felt tears sting his eyes, and he had to blink several times and clear his throat before he was able to to say in a gruff voice, "Just what I'd expect from a sentimental Gryffindor."

Lupin kissed him lightly on the mouth and said, "I love you, too, Severus."

A derisive snort was the only reply that Lupin received, but a moment later he felt Snape's lips pressing gently against his forehead in a tender kiss, and he sighed happily and snuggled against his lover's chest.

And just before sleep claimed him and he slipped into unconsciousness, Lupin heard Snape whisper, "I love you, Remus."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lupin seeks to learn more about lycanthropy from one of the Japanese werewolves; Aric goes on an excursion to the Muggle world, and finally receives his feather robe.

A few days after the festival, Tsubasa stopped by the Kimuras' cottage carrying a large cloth-wrapped bundle. "I've thought it over, and discussed the matter with my parents, and I've decided to accept the job at Hogwarts," he announced.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear!" Haruko exclaimed delightedly. "You must stop by and visit us often!"

"Yes, you're welcome to stop by the Sakura for dinner whenever you get homesick for Japanese cooking," Isamu added, smiling warmly at his nephew. "The food at Hogwarts is tasty, I'm sure, but very different from what you're used to."

"I'm so glad that you're taking the job, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said, giving his cousin a brief hug. "But I hope that your parents weren't too upset about it."

"No, actually they encouraged me to take it," Tsubasa assured him with a smile. "They feel reassured that I'll have family nearby, and they promised to come visit me often through the Portkey."

"That's great!" Aric said, feeling pleased that everything seemed to be going according to plan; he had been a bit worried that Tsubasa would turn down the job. Now all he had to do was get Tsubasa and Ash together. "We'll have to introduce you to all our friends when you get to England."

"Yes," Takeshi agreed. "We'll have to introduce you to Aric's pack. I think you'll get along well with the werewolves."

"It will be nice to meet some fellow shapeshifters," Tsubasa said, and Aric tried not to grin too smugly.

"Lukas might enjoy sparring with you," Takeshi continued.

"Oh yes, that reminds me," Tsubasa said, unwrapping the bundle he had brought with him to reveal two wooden swords. "I believe that you requested a match with me, Aric?"

"Yes," Aric said, his eyes shining eagerly. "Although I'm glad that we're using wooden swords, after the display you put on at the wedding!"

"Please don't hurt him too badly, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said, only half-jokingly. "I'd like him back in one piece, if you don't mind."

"Don't worry," Tsubasa said with a grin and a wink. "I'll go easy on him, and send him back to your arms--and your bed--unharmed."

Takeshi blushed and scolded, "You've been among the tengu too long."

"And you're starting to sound like Kazuhiko," Tsubasa said, laughing good-naturedly.

Haruko made a shooing motion with her hands, saying briskly, "If you're going to be fighting with swords, do it outside. I don't want you breaking anything in here."

A few minutes later, Aric and Tsubasa were slowly circling around each other in the front yard like two rival wolves sizing each other up, while Takeshi watched from the porch. Aric knew that it was often wiser to wait for your opponent to attack first, in order to better judge his abilities, but on the other hand, one of them had to attack eventually, or they'd still be out here circling around each other come nightfall. It didn't look like Tsubasa was going to make his move anytime soon, and Aric's inner wolf was growing restless. Well, actually, it probably wasn't fair to blame it on the wolf; Aric's fencing instructors had always said that he was too impatient.

_Oh, screw it!_ Aric thought, and lunged forward. Tsubasa immediately raised his own wooden blade and parried, easily knocking Aric's sword aside, with more force than Aric had expected. The crane swordsman's graceful, willowy body looked deceptively delicate, almost frail, but Tsubasa was obviously much stronger than he looked--probably not as strong as a werewolf, but strong enough that Aric felt the force of the blow run down the sword and into his arm. He jumped backwards before Tsubasa could counterattack, and grinned widely at his opponent. Both the human part of Aric and his inner wolf loved a good fight, and Tsubasa was the most challenging opponent he'd had since he'd met Lukas.

Then Tsubasa went on the offensive, and Aric was hard-pressed to defend himself. The crane man was fast, as fast as a werewolf--but he should have expected that after watching Tsubasa's performance at the wedding reception. Aric wondered for a moment whether it was a natural crane trait or simply the result of his years of training with the tengu, but soon the battle required his full concentration, and he had no time to think about it further.

His werewolf reflexes allowed him to parry the first few attacks, but then the tip of Tsubasa's wooden sword managed to slip past Aric's guard, striking his arm with a small but stinging blow. If they had been using real swords, it would definitely have drawn blood although it would not have been a life-threatening wound. Still, Aric suspected that it had left behind a welt beneath the sleeve of his robe.

Tsubasa struck several more light but painful blows on Aric's arms and chest as they continued to duel. Aric was filled with admiration for his opponent, because it was obvious that he was even better than Lukas, but at the same time, he found himself growing irritated because he suspected that Tsubasa was toying with him. If he was as good as he seemed, he should have been able to land a solid blow by now.

Aric let his anger and aggression take control, heightened by wolf's instincts, and he charged his opponent recklessly, with a strong forward thrust of his sword. Tsubasa appeared to be caught off-guard by that unexpected move, and wasn't able to parry effectively; he got his blade up in time to meet Aric's, but wasn't strong enough to turn aside a head-on attack with Aric's full strength behind it.

Instead of fighting it, Tsubasa moved with the momentum of Aric's attack, allowing it to propel him backwards. Aric felt a brief moment of triumph, thinking that he had managed to knock his opponent down as Tsubasa fell to the ground, but then he continued moving, smoothly tumbling backwards and somersaulting back up onto his feet as if he were a circus acrobat.

Aric stood there gaping in shock for a moment, which was a mistake, because Tsubasa took advantage of his hesitation to run forward and leap up into the air. Aric saw the crane man's wooden sword plunging down towards him, and then suddenly he was flat on his back, staring up at the sky, wondering why there were little stars floating in front of his eyes when the sun was still out. 

"Aric?" an anxious voice asked. "Aric, are you all right?"

The stars receded, and Aric saw his mate gazing down at him with a worried look on his face. "Oh, hi, 'Keshi," Aric said weakly. 

Takeshi turned on his cousin and said accusingly, "You promised that you wouldn't hurt him!" He was glowering at Tsubasa, looking fiercely protective. Aric found it kind of sweet, actually, that his mate was so concerned about him. The good-natured mediwizard hardly ever lost his temper, and in a slightly perverse way, it pleased Aric that he could make Takeshi lose control of himself. 

"I never said that," Tsubasa replied in a mild voice. "I just said that I'd go easy on him, and I did. And anyway, you never asked me not to hurt him; you just asked me not to hurt him too badly and to return him to you in one piece. And if I am not mistaken, your mate is somewhat bruised, but still intact."

"Are you sure he's intact?" Takeshi demanded, still looking rather upset. "He seems to have a concussion; I'm afraid you might have fractured his skull."

"I was careful not to hit him in the head," Tsubasa protested. 

Which made Aric realize that his shoulder hurt a lot more than his head did, and he reached up to loosen his robe and pulled it aside to reveal a huge purple bruise spreading across his left shoulder.

"Tsubasa!" Takeshi cried.

"Take it easy, 'Keshi, it's just a bruise," Aric assured him, wincing slightly as he carefully moved his shoulder to make sure of that. He gingerly reached up to touch his head, which also seemed to be intact. "I think I bumped the back of my head when I fell, and it must've knocked me out for a second. But I'm okay now."

Takeshi knelt down to examine him. "Nothing seems to be broken," he grudgingly acknowledged, then held up his hand, his index and middle fingers forming a "v" sign. "How many fingers do you see?"

"Four?" Aric asked, then laughed at the look of alarm on Takeshi's face. "Just kidding! I only see two." 

Takeshi crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his lover. The expression on his face reminded Aric of McGonagall confronting a misbehaving student--except that Takeshi was much prettier than McGonagall, of course. 

"You know, Aric, I'm rather tempted to give you a concussion myself right now."

"And here I thought you were so concerned about me," Aric teased. "But seriously, 'Keshi, I'm fine." He slowly sat up, brushing off his robes. "I've been hurt worse in Quidditch practice at Durmstrang. I once took a Bludger in the chest and spent a week in the hospital wing."

"Are you sure that you didn't take a Bludger to the head?" Takeshi asked dryly.

"It might have been better if I had," Aric laughed. "I'm very hardheaded, or so I've been told."

"I can't imagine why," Takeshi said sarcastically.

Tsubasa offered Aric a hand up and helped him to his feet. "Sorry, Cousin," he said with a grin, not looking particularly repentant. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Aric said, grinning back at him. "No need for apologies; that was a great match!"

Takeshi rolled his eyes heavenward. "Merlin save me from warriors," he said dramatically to the sky.

"Thank you for the match," Tsubasa said, ignoring his cousin. "You were a good opponent."

"No need to flatter me," Aric said with a wry smile. "You were holding back; I could tell. And even then, you kicked my arse. If we'd been fighting for real, you could've killed me a dozen times over."

"Your physical strength is superior to mine," Tsubasa told him, serious now. "And your reflexes are excellent. The main difference between us is merely experience." He gave Aric a thoughtful, appraising look. "It would be interesting to see how your werewolf strength and speed would benefit from tengu training."

"Unfortunately, he doesn't have ten years to spend training with the tengu," Takeshi interjected, still sounding a bit peeved. "He's due to start his new job at St. Mungo's in August."

"But maybe you could teach me a few things while you're here?" Aric asked hopefully.

"I'd be delighted," Tsubasa said.

Takeshi sighed heavily, and Aric teased, "But I thought you wanted me to get along with your family!"

"This is not quite what I had in mind," Takeshi informed him.

Aric thought it was probably time to placate his mate a bit. He slipped an arm around Takeshi and kissed him on the cheek. "Sorry for making you worry, love," he said contritely.

Takeshi glared at him for a moment, then relented and smiled. "This is what comes of taking a werewolf as a mate, I suppose," he said with a little sigh. "They seem to have a predilection for brawling. It's probably related to the need to establish pack dominance."

"But at least we heal quickly," Aric said with a grin.

"Fortunately for you," Takeshi said. "But for my peace of mind, if nothing else, let's go into the house and put some healing salve on your bruises."

Besides the large bruise on his shoulder, Aric had a number of small bruises and welts on his arms and chest, although those were already beginning to fade. But he didn't complain as Takeshi applied salve to his wounds, the gentle touch of his hands as soothing as the salve itself.

Tsubasa grinned, looking very amused. "You know, Takeshi, you've seen me and my tengu friends suffer much worse wounds in practice, but you've never fussed over any of us that way."

"That's because you're not my mate," Takeshi replied, and his cousin laughed.

"You used to think it was funny that Lukas and I enjoyed 'beating on each other with big wooden sticks,' as you put it," Aric reminded him.

"That's because I had never actually seen anyone beating on you before," Takeshi said with a rueful smile. "Watching Tsubasa and the tengu practice swordplay never bothered me that much, although as a healer, it goes against the grain to watch two people deliberately inflicting harm on each other. But with you, Aric...I think that it would probably be better if I didn't watch any more of your practice sessions."

"It's protective instinct, I suppose," Tsubasa said with a shrug. "An automatic reaction to seeing your mate in danger." He grinned again. "Even if that mate seems perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

"All right, all right!" Takeshi grumbled good-naturedly, throwing his hands up in defeat. "I admit that I overreacted. I'm sorry. The two of you have my permission to beat each other up as much as you like."

The three of them laughed together. "Everyone thinks that healers are gentle, but in my experience, they're usually quite fierce, at least when it comes to protecting a patient," Tsubasa said with a sly smile. "And doubly so when that patient is someone they love."

"Someday you'll find a mate," Takeshi retorted. "And then we'll see how they feel about you getting bruised and battered in practice, or performing a sword dance with razor-sharp blades."

"Well then, I'll just have to choose another warrior to be my mate," Tsubasa said lightly. "Someone who won't fret over a few bruises, perhaps even someone who would join me in practice, and we could inflict bruises on each other."

"Sometimes I think that all warriors are masochists," Takeshi said, shaking his head.

"Perhaps we should introduce him to some werewolves," Aric suggested innocently. "Since we like to brawl, and heal quickly."

"Well, I should probably concentrate on my new job first before I start looking for potential mates," Tsubasa laughed. "But I'll be happy to meet your friends when we go to England, Aric."

Tsubasa left soon after that, but promised to come back the next day to spar with Aric again. Takeshi sighed in a resigned manner but offered no further arguments. Aric was gloating inwardly--or so he thought, but some of his glee must have shown on his face because Takeshi said in an amused voice, "I know what you're trying to do, Aric."

"What are you talking about, 'Keshi?" Aric asked, feigning bewilderment.

"Don't play innocent with me; you're too much of a Slytherin to pull it off," Takeshi retorted, giving his lover a knowing smile. "You're trying to play matchmaker for Ash and Tsubasa." Aric grinned sheepishly, and Takeshi continued, "I don't really have any objection to it; in fact, I'd be thrilled if my favorite cousin and one of my best friends got together, but Ash is a bit of a playboy. I don't think he's really interested in a serious relationship."

_Oh, I think you're wrong about that,_ Aric thought to himself. He'd seen the way that Ash looked at Takeshi, and it wasn't fond remembrance of a brief fling. It was a kind of a wistful longing for something that he'd lost, or perhaps something that he'd never really had to begin with. Aric still wasn't exactly sure what had happened between Takeshi and Ash, but whatever it was, he suspected that Ash had taken it a lot more seriously than Takeshi thought he had.

"Maybe he just hasn't met the right person yet," was all Aric said. "And anyway, there's no harm in introducing the two of them, is there? At the very least, your cousin might make a new friend. And if they get together...well then, everyone's happy, right?"

"And you're doing this solely out of the goodness of your Slytherin heart?" Takeshi asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

"I'm in love!" Aric declared, throwing his arms out in an expansive gesture. "I want everyone else to be happy, too!"

"That's very sweet, my love," Takeshi laughed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But you do know that you don't have to be jealous of Ash, don't you? I promise, there was never anything serious between us. We're just friends."

"It doesn't matter," Aric said with a possessive, wolfish grin. "I am jealous of every man you've ever been with, every man who's ever touched you." He wrapped his arms around Takeshi and pulled him onto his lap.

"There's no need to be jealous," Takeshi whispered, winding his arms around Aric's neck. "I belong solely to you, my wolf."

Aric had just closed his mouth over Takeshi's, when Haruko pushed the sliding door open and asked, "Did Tsubasa leave already? I was going to ask him if he wanted to stay for dinner..." Her voice trailed off as Takeshi and Aric hastily pulled apart, blushing furiously, then she exclaimed, "Oh, excuse me! I didn't mean to...ah...interrupt." She quickly but gracefully backed out of the doorway and slid the door shut, and Aric could hear her giggling almost girlishly as she walked away, sounding both embarrassed and amused at the same time.

"Arrgh!" Aric growled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Remind me to cast a locking spell on the door next time!"

"You didn't really give me much opportunity, my love," Takeshi laughed, then laid his head on Aric's shoulder and cooed, "But I could cast one now if you like."

"I'm not in the mood anymore," Aric said sulkily. 

"Well, that's very rare," Takeshi said, grinning. "I've never known you not to be in the mood."

"I just don't think that I can have sex with you when your parents know that we're doing it," Aric grumbled.

"That's what comes of living with a family," Takeshi said pleasantly, kissing him on the cheek. "Shall we go see if Okaasan needs help with dinner, then?"

Aric followed his mate to the kitchen, muttering under his breath that he ought to take a cold shower first. But in spite of his complaints, Aric felt almost cheerful. He still missed his parents and grandparents, but he was glad to be part of the Kimura family now. He had been a complete stranger to Haruko and Isamu up until a few weeks ago, but they had welcomed him as a son and offered him unconditional love and acceptance. It was a precious gift to someone accustomed to living among the Slytherin elite, who never gave away anything without strings attached--not even affection, and not even to members of their own family. The sense of comfort and belonging that he felt with his new family was well worth any awkward or embarrassing moments that might arise, now or in the future.

_They are pack,_ Aric's inner wolf growled contentedly, and Aric silently nodded in agreement.

*** 

Naoto Kamiyama and Severus were busy working on developing new variations of healing potions, a complex project that Lupin could provide little help with, since he had never had much talent for potion brewing. So Naoto had arranged for Lupin to meet with his son-in-law Seiji, a member of the local werewolf pack. They had met only briefly during Lupin's last visit to Japan, and Lupin was curious to learn more about the other werewolf. Having grown up in isolation, feeling like a freak and a misfit, Lupin was fascinated by and a little envious of werewolves like Lukas and Seiji, who had spent most of their lives living in packs.

Seiji was nervous around strangers, so they were meeting in the woods nearby the temple, where there was less chance that the local Muggle villagers might stumble across them by accident. Lupin left early so that he could take his time and stroll leisurely through the woods, humming cheerfully as he walked. On one arm, he carried a basket that contained bottles of Wolfsbane Potion (brewed by Naoto and Severus for Seiji's pack) and a packet of tea that he had purchased in the village as a gift for Seiji. Then Lupin chuckled to himself, suddenly feeling like Little Red Riding Hood on her way to meet the Big Bad Wolf. 

"But I guess that's a bad analogy," he said. "Since I'm missing the red coat, and of course, I'm a wolf, too." Then he laughed again, and said, "No doubt Severus would make disparaging comments about Gryffindors who talk to themselves if he were here." And then he tried to picture Severus as Little Red Riding Hood and himself as the Big Bad Wolf, and burst into giggles at the mental image of the Potions Master clad in a red hooded cloak, skipping through the forest carrying a picnic basket. No, Severus would never skip; rather, he'd slink or skulk. And of course he'd never wear red. So Lupin began to create a new fairy tale in his head, about a brave Death Eater spy clad in a shadowy black cloak, who was skulking through the woods carrying a basket of Wolfsbane Potion on his way to a secret rendezvous with a handsome and charming werewolf...

"That would be me, of course," Lupin said, when a voice called out, "Lupin-san?"

Seiji stepped out from behind a tree, looking much the same as he had when Lupin had last seen him a few years ago, with his feral golden eyes and shoulder-length white hair that was incongruous with his relatively youthful face (he was about the same age as Lupin). His clothing, too, had not changed much: clean but faded kimono and hakama, although he was also wearing a necklace that Lupin had never seen before, that appeared to be made of bits of polished bone and claws and fangs. 

"It's good to see you again, Seiji-san," Lupin said in Japanese, bowing politely.

"It's been awhile," Seiji replied in the same language, bowing in return. "I'm glad to see that you're looking well. Were you speaking to me just now? I'm sorry, but I don't understand English."

"Oh no, I was just talking to myself," Lupin laughed. "I guess I got into the habit of it after living alone for so many years, although Severus would probably blame it on my being a Gryffindor." Seiji looked a little puzzled, but just smiled politely and nodded. "Anyway, thank you for coming to meet me," Lupin continued, then held out the basket. "I've brought some Wolfsbane Potion for your pack, and some tea that Miyako helped me pick out."

"Thank you, Lupin-san," Seiji said, accepting the basket, then seated himself on a fallen log with a small sigh. As Lupin took a seat next to him, he noticed that the other werewolf looked very weary.

"Are you all right?" Lupin asked. "If you're not feeling well, Severus might be able to brew a potion for you..."

"I am not sick," Seiji said with a sad and slightly ironic smile. "Just tired, in body and spirit." He reached up and touched the bone necklace. "Do you know what this is, Lupin-san?" 

"No, I don't," Lupin replied, shaking his head.

"This signifies leadership of the pack," Seiji said, and Lupin raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't sure whether to offer congratulations or not, since Seiji did not look very happy about it.

So all he said was, "I take it this was a recent occurrence?"

"Yes," Seiji sighed. "I had to defeat the former pack leader in combat in order to take control of the pack."

"Oh!" Lupin exclaimed, even more surprised than before. Seiji did not seem like the type who was hungry for power, so he must have had some other reason. "May I ask why?" Lupin inquired diffidently.

"For the future of our children," Seiji replied solemnly. "We are very isolated, Lupin-san. Few of the pack other than myself ever descend from our home in the mountains to mingle with the other shapeshifter races and the human wizards. And even I'm uncomfortable being around non-pack members, other than my wife and her family. But we can't continue as we are. Our numbers grow smaller with each generation, and most of the pack are related to each other. Soon we won't be able to find mates within the pack without the relationships being incestuous."

"My mate's mother said that the British purebloods are in danger of dying out from inbreeding," Lupin said softly.

"Yes, it is much the same thing," Seiji agreed. "But it isn't just that. I am afraid that our pack is slowly losing our humanity. The Wolfsbane Potion helps, but even so...a few of the older pack members spend most of their time in wolf form even when the moon isn't full. If things continue as they are, I'm afraid that in a few generations, we may become completely wolf and forget that we were ever human."

"Is that even possible?" Lupin asked, startled. "To remain in wolf form even after the full moon has passed? I know that brief transformations are possible if the wolf feels threatened enough, but to remain in wolf form for long periods of time? There are stories and legends of werewolves who lost their humanity and became trapped in wolf form, but there are no actual documented cases of such a thing occurring, at least in the research that I've read."

Seiji shrugged. "Perhaps it's peculiar to my clan. Legend has it that long ago we were able to change form at will without losing our sanity, like the kitsune and crane folk and other shapeshifters. The humans revered us as guardian spirits, and we watched over and protected them. But we somehow offended the gods, and they cursed us by taking away our control over our ability to transform."

"A similar story was passed down in my family," Lupin said. "The tale says that the werewolves grew arrogant and began using their power for ill instead of good, so the gods cursed them by taking away their humanity once every month during the full moon."

"No one really knows the reason why we were cursed," Seiji said. "There are many different versions, but the most common one is that a man of the wolf race became enamored of a young priestess. When she rejected his advances, he was overcome with rage, and in a moment of madness, he struck and killed her. And by killing a servant of the gods, he brought down their wrath not just upon himself, but his entire clan. Because he had behaved like a beast, we were cursed to become beasts, in mind as well as body, and once every month, we are overcome with the anger and madness of our ancestor. Or so the stories say. No one knows if the legend is true, but whatever the reason, the curse remains."

"So some members of your clan still have the ability to transform at will?" Lupin asked.

Seiji shook his head. "Not at will. But sometimes one of us will lose the desire to remain human. It might be triggered by a traumatic event, like the death of a mate or child, or sometimes they just lose the strength to fight off the wolf's instincts--although this was more common before we started taking the Wolfsbane Potion. A very few get addicted to the pleasures of being in a wolf's body, to its strength and power, and the thrill of the hunt. And the longer one remains in wolf form, the harder it is to change back."

"I've heard of that happening to Animagi," Lupin said, nodding. "If they spend too much time in animal form, they begin to forget what it's like to be human." He shuddered, thinking of Sirius, who had spent most of his imprisonment in Azkaban in dog form, risking one form of insanity to escape another. 

"I do not want our children to deny the part of them that is wolf," Seiji said. "For good or for ill, it is part of what we are. But neither do I want them to lose their humanity. So I proposed that we start sending them to be schooled at Mahou Gakkou, where they can be reminded of what it is to be human, and form friendships with the human wizards and the other shapeshifters." He smiled slightly. "And perhaps to find mates and bring new blood into the clan. But the pack leader and most of the clan elders were vehemently opposed to this idea. So I had no choice but to fight for leadership of the pack."

"But that must have caused hard feelings among the pack," Lupin said. "Will they obey your orders?"

"They will," Seiji said firmly, with no trace of hesitation or doubt in his voice. "As I told you, we are more wolf than human, and in this instance, that works to my advantage. I am the pack leader, so they will instinctively obey me, even if they don't like my orders."

"But if someone challenges you?" Lupin asked.

Seiji gave him a fierce and feral grin that exposed long, fang-like canines and made Lupin swallow nervously and slide a little further down the log away from Seiji, suppressing the urge to whimper and tuck his tail between his legs, figuratively speaking. 

"They've already tried," Seiji said. "And no one in the pack had the power to defeat me. None of them will defy my rule."

"I believe it," Lupin said fervently. For all that he was usually quiet and soft-spoken, Seiji was definitely an alpha wolf. And he had the strength of his convictions behind him, which sometimes counted more than physical strength.

"The older werewolves, myself included, will never really feel at ease in the outside world," Seiji sighed, his menacing grin fading. "But it is not too late for the children. I believe that they are young enough and flexible enough to adapt. We can no longer afford to live in isolation if the pack is to survive." Then he smiled at Lupin. "But forgive me, Lupin-san, for burdening with you with my troubles."

"Not at all," Lupin assured him. "A burden shared is a burden lessened, and I am more than happy to lend a sympathetic ear to a fellow werewolf."

"I do feel a little better now," Seiji admitted. "It was a heavy burden to bear, going against the wishes of my packmates. I haven't even told my wife about it yet, although I suppose I will have to explain why I'm wearing this necklace now."

"You didn't tell her that you were challenging the pack leader?" Lupin asked.

"I did not wish to worry her," Seiji replied. "Usually the duel will end when the weaker wolf submits to the stronger, but occasionally such battles can end in death."

"Tsuneko-san will be very cross with you when she finds out," Lupin said with a grin. 

"Yes, I'm sure she will be," Seiji said with a rueful smile. "She will voice her displeasure most strongly, and I will most humbly apologize and beg her forgiveness. There are times when even a pack leader must bow before his mate."

"I think that is true of any mated pair," Lupin said, and they both laughed.

"I suppose so," Seiji agreed. "Well, you have been very patient, Lupin-san, listening to my troubles. So what can I do for you? My father-in-law said that you wanted to talk to me."

"I wanted to learn more about werewolves, and what it's like to live in a pack," Lupin said, smiling. "So I have already learned a great deal, just from listening to your 'troubles'. Although inherited lycanthropy runs in my family, I was the first one in generations to actually develop the disease. I spent my childhood in isolation until I went to school at Hogwarts, and I never met another werewolf until...well, until I met you, actually. And then later I met my friend Lukas and his pack. I would like to learn more about what it means to be a werewolf. Up until recently, the werewolves in Britain tried very hard to keep their condition a secret, for fear of being ostracized. We confided in no one, and we certainly didn't seek out the company of others of our kind."

"A wolf is not meant to live alone," Seiji said sympathetically. "That must have been very hard for you."

"Yes," Lupin replied. "But eventually I found human friends who were able to accept me for what I am, and I guess you could say I formed my own pack, even though I'm the only werewolf in it." He paused, then asked curiously, "How many members of your pack are wolf, and how many are human?"

"We are all wolves," Seiji answered, much to Lupin's surprise. "Well, except for my wife, of course, but she doesn't actually live with the pack."

"What?!" Lupin exclaimed. "Even with inherited lycanthropy, the disease usually skips a generation, or even several generations. I assumed that some of your pack would give birth to normal children, even if one or both parents were werewolves."

"Our wolf blood runs strong in us," Seiji said. "You must remember, we were originally a race of shapeshifters, like the tengu and kitsune--or so we believe. So long as we mate with other werewolves, our children are born werewolves also. We have only rarely married with humans or the other breeds of shapeshifters, and in those few instances, almost all of the children resulting from those marriages have inherited the werewolf parent's lycanthropy--like my own daughter Miyako. Oh, and over the years, a few outsiders have joined the pack by being bitten and turned. We try to keep away from the humans so that we won't hurt anyone during our transformations, which is why we live in such a remote location, but every now and then someone will be foolish enough or unlucky enough to venture into our territory during the full moon, by intent or chance. But that hasn't happened for over a hundred years."

"It was assumed that the gene that causes inherited lycanthropy must be recessive," Lupin said, frowning thoughtfully. "Since it so rarely manifests itself. But in the case of your clan, it seems to be dominant. That's very interesting. But occasionally a normal human child is born within the pack?"

Seiji nodded. "There are none at present, but there have been in the past, although only a few. As you can imagine, it was very difficult for them, to be set so far apart from the rest of the pack."

Lupin smiled ironically. "I was an outcast, a werewolf living among humans, but in a pack of werewolves, I guess the humans would be the outcasts. So what happened to them?"

"Some lived as best they could, accepting that they would never be the same as the rest of the pack," Seiji replied. "The ones who couldn't accept it either left to live among the humans, or..." He hesitated, then finished, "They deliberately allowed themselves to be turned in order to truly become part of the pack."

"What?!" Lupin cried out, aghast. "They deliberately allowed themselves to be bitten? But isn't that terribly dangerous? Not all victims of a werewolf attack are turned; in fact, many are killed!"

"It is not something that we encouraged," Seiji said gravely. "But for some, it was worth the risk. They would rather have died than live as outsiders within the clan. And once or twice, a human member of the pack was turned by accident, when they did not remain in a place secure enough during the full moon. This was, of course, before the Wolfsbane Potion was invented."

Lupin shook his head, still feeling rather stunned. For all that he had come to embrace his inner wolf, he found it difficult to imagine someone willingly facing a werewolf in its full madness and deliberately allowing themselves to be turned.

"It may sound horrible to you, Lupin-san, since you were raised among humans," Seiji told him. "The need to belong to a pack is strong in wolves, but even humans possess the desire to belong, do they not? Even being part of a group of outcasts is better than being an outcast all alone."

"Yes..." Lupin said slowly, nodding as he thought of his own desperate need to belong to the Marauders. He flushed with shame as he remembered all the times that he had kept silent when they had done something wrong, even when they had taunted and humiliated Severus, because he had been afraid of losing the only friends that he had. Because he had been afraid of being alone. 

"Yes," Lupin repeated quietly. "I understand. In the past, I did things that I'm ashamed of now, because I wanted to fit in with my friends at Hogwarts. But in doing so, I hurt someone that I cared about, and it took a long time for him to forgive me. At least the members of your pack who chose to be turned weren't hurting anyone but themselves."

"Well, that's not entirely true," Seiji admitted. "If they were killed instead of turned, the pack would feel much guilt and grief over having slain a member of the clan. But the pack understands and accepts the need to belong, even at the risk of death. Perhaps that is a selfish need, but a wolf follows its instincts and doesn't worry about whether they're selfish or not."

"I guess there's a combination of selfishness and selflessness in all of us," Lupin said with a smile. "A wolf will fight to protect its pack; that's pretty selfless, isn't it?"

"But the wolf sees the pack as an extension of itself," Seiji countered, smiling back at Lupin. "So one could say that in essence, the wolf is protecting itself by protecting the pack."

"Well, I guess that's a question for philosophers," Lupin laughed. "Which I most certainly am not! I'll just stick to following my instincts; they've served me well, most of the time."

Both the mood and the conversation lightened then, and Seiji described life in the Japanese werewolf pack for Lupin. They lived a quiet life, hunting and growing their own food, and had little contact with the outside world, except for Seiji, who regularly journeyed to and from the temple to visit his wife and daughter and pick up the Wolfsbane Potion for his pack. 

"What is it like, turning into a wolf when the moon isn't full?" Lupin asked curiously. "It happened to me only once, in the heat of battle when we were fighting the Death Eaters. I had lost my wand while dueling with a Death Eater, and when I saw one of my students in danger--a boy who later became my foster son--I found myself transforming spontaneously. I didn't retain my full human consciousness, but I remained sane enough not to attack my comrades. I didn't feel the madness of the full moon, but only a strong desire to protect my cubs--my students--and my mate." He smiled wryly. "I did feel plenty of aggression towards the Death Eaters, though."

"It is much the same with us," Seiji said. "When we take wolf form outside of the full moon, our minds are partly animal and partly human, although as I said, we become more animal and less human the longer we remain in wolf form. Our wolf minds seem to be calmer, and we don't feel the madness and aggression that the full moon provokes. However, if a human should happen to cross our paths, then the desire to bite and pass on the curse reasserts itself. A true human, that is, not a werewolf in human form. The wolf can tell the difference; I believe it's the scent. A werewolf just smells different from a normal human, somehow, even when it's not in wolf form."

"Really?" Lupin asked interestedly. "I've never noticed that before."

"Well, it's quite a subtle difference," Seiji said. "Perhaps the difference is more obvious to us, since we spend so little time among humans."

"Ah!" Lupin exclaimed. "I remember now; you knew as soon as we met that I was a werewolf even though we were both in human form at the time. You could smell it on me." He remembered being startled when the strange werewolf had leaned over and started sniffing him like a dog.

Seiji smiled sheepishly. "I apologize for that; it was very rude of me." 

Lupin just laughed and waved off his apology. "Oh, not at all. I was a strange wolf intruding on your territory, after all. I envy you a little, you know. You grew up in the pack, and you knew what it meant to be a werewolf. You understood how the curse worked, and how best to keep from infecting innocent people. Lycanthropy ran in my family, but I was the first one in several generations to develop it, so my parents weren't much better prepared to deal with it than a normal human family would be. We had to learn about lycanthropy piecemeal, through a few old family legends and what information we could find in textbooks--which was sparse, and often incorrect." Lupin sighed wistfully. "I remember the fear and loneliness that I felt as a child. I wonder what it would have been like to grow up in your pack?"

"I'm sure that you would have been much less lonely and frightened," Seiji replied. "You would have been loved and protected by the pack. Even the human wizards do not really ostracize us, although they treat us with caution and respect. It is we who have chosen to live in isolation. But Lupin-san, if you grew up in Japan, then you probably would not have met your mate, would you?"

Lupin realized with a start that Seiji was right. If he had grown up here in Japan, he would never have met Severus. Or...possibly they might have met when Severus traveled to Japan to work with Naoto on the Wolfsbane Potion? But Severus had only been interested in developing the potion because he had wanted to help Lupin. If he had never known Lupin, then he likely would never have chosen to work on the potion.

Lupin felt a sudden sense of fear and emptiness at the thought of Severus not being part of his life. "Thank you, Seiji-san," Lupin said humbly. "Thank you for reminding me to be grateful for what I have, instead of wishing for what I don't have. Severus is...he is my life. Any hardships that I endured were more than worth it, if they resulted in the two of us meeting."

"I feel the same way about Tsuneko," Seiji said softly.

They chatted for a few more minutes, then Lupin excused himself and headed back to the temple, eager to see his mate and reassure himself that Severus was really his.

He found Severus alone in their room, going over some of the notes he'd made on his potion research. "Ah, you're back, Lupin," he said, looking up from his notes and absent-mindedly brushing his shiny-not-greasy black locks away from his face. "Did you learn anything interesting from Seiji?"

"Yes," Lupin replied. "I did." And he wrapped his arms around his startled mate and hugged him fiercely.

"Ah...are you all right, Lupin?" Severus asked. He sounded bewildered, but put his arms around Lupin and returned the embrace.

"I am now," Lupin whispered, a contented smile spreading across his face.

*** 

Aric's summer vacation passed by quickly. The days were carefree and idyllic, spent going on romantic walks with Takeshi, and sometimes playing with the twins or sparring with Tsubasa. The nights, of course, were spent making love, either in their bedroom or in the little grove surrounding the hot spring.

And there was the party that the tengu threw for Tsubasa, which although it had seemed carefree at the time, was hardly idyllic in retrospect. When Tsubasa had told the tengu that he would be leaving Japan to work at Hogwarts, they had insisted on throwing a big party for him to bid him farewell and wish him good luck. And since Takeshi was Tsubasa's cousin, he and Aric had been invited. Ichiro was also invited, but politely declined, saying with a self-deprecating laugh that his constitution wasn't strong enough to endure a night of tengu merrymaking. Aric had no idea what he meant at the time, but he soon found out on the night of the party.

It started off harmlessly enough, with the tengu telling stories about Tsubasa's time with them, some praising his abilities as a swordsman, and some poking good-natured fun at his expense. They teased him about his pretty looks, and recounted a time when he had been bathing in the river and a mischievous tengu maiden had stolen his clothes. And they laughed over the memory of how a young Tsubasa, then only eighteen and recently graduated from Salem, had gotten very sick and thrown up all over himself after a night of drinking at a party similar to this one.

"But we toughened him up!" Karasu laughed, slapping Tsubasa on the back heartily. "Now he can hold his liquor like a tengu!" Tsubasa endured the teasing graciously, laughing along with the others.

After they were done teasing their comrade, the tengu staged demonstration matches with wooden swords, and called upon Aric to join in, which he did willingly enough. He was no match for the experienced tengu warriors, of course, but he acquitted himself respectably enough to win a smile and a friendly slap on the back from his opponents. He was hot and sweaty afterwards, and was grateful when someone pressed a cup of cold sake into his hand.

He downed it in a quick gulp, and someone immediately appeared at his side to fill up his empty cup. He remembered how Takeshi had warned him at the wedding that the rice wine was stronger than it tasted. The sake that the tengu served had a sharp bite to it, seeming much stronger than the smooth-tasting stuff that had been served at the reception, so Aric tried to drink sparingly at first. But it was hard to keep track of how much he was drinking when a friendly tengu would refill his cup as soon as he emptied it, or even when it was just half-empty. And as a guest of the tengu, it seemed churlish to refuse their hospitality.

When Takeshi tried to politely dissuade the tengu, they just laughed off his protests and said, "He's a werewolf, right? He's strong enough to handle a little liquor!"

"That's right, I can handle it!" Aric declared, feeling rather euphoric, and held up his empty cup to be filled, as Takeshi sighed and shook his head.

"And what about you, Takeshi-kun?" one of the tengu asked. "You've hardly touched your sake! Come on, drink up, this is a party in honor of your cousin, after all!"

The tengu seemed to refill Takeshi's cup almost as often as they did Aric's, but the mediwizard remained as calm and composed as always, while Aric found himself growing increasingly intoxicated and loquacious. His thoughts grew a bit fuzzy as the evening wore on and the party grew increasingly rowdy and boisterous. Somehow he found himself standing on a table singing a German drinking song that he had learned at Durmstrang...

That was the last thing he remembered before he woke up the next morning with a splitting headache, the sunlight painfully bright to his eyes as it spilled in through the bedroom window.

"Someone turn out the lights," he groaned, throwing his forearm across his eyes. "And tell those house-elves to stop tap-dancing on my head."

Takeshi drew the curtains over the window, blessedly cutting the light back to a tolerable level. "Didn't I tell you not to drink too much?" he chided, but gently, sounding more amused than annoyed.

"I didn't mean to drink that much," Aric groaned as he sat up, then had to pause and clutch at his head when the room seemed to spin around him dizzily. "But they kept filling up my cup." He gave his mate an accusing look and demanded, "Why don't you have a hangover, too? You drank almost as much as I did!"

"Transfiguration magic," Takeshi replied, looking infuriatingly smug. "It's very difficult to change water into wine, but relatively easy to change wine into water, because you're subtracting ingredients from the original substance instead of trying to add them. That's one of the laws of magic, of course: it's always easier to destroy something than to create it."

"Spare me the lecture, Professor," Aric muttered disgruntledly.

Takeshi just grinned at him and continued blithely, "It was Tsubasa who taught me that spell, actually. His specialty is Transfiguration, and he developed the spell out of sheer self-preservation. He likely wouldn't have survived ten years' worth of tengu drinking parties without it."  "Does that mean all their parties are like that?" Aric asked, finding the thought a bit daunting. He and his friends at Durmstrang had liked to party, but he'd never had a hangover this bad before, although the one he'd gotten after drinking on the Astronomy Tower with Draco came pretty close.

"More or less," Takeshi replied. "They seem to be able to consume vast quantities of liquor without too much ill effect. Although most of them are probably suffering from hangovers this morning, too. Still, the hangovers never seem to deter them from drinking just as much at the next party."

"You know, you might have shared that spell with me beforehand," Aric said sulkily.

"Ah, but you assured me that you could handle your liquor, my dear," Takeshi said sweetly. "Due to your werewolf strength."

"Aw, come on, you knew that I was already half-drunk at that point," Aric groaned. "You're so heartless, Takeshi! I told you that you should've been Sorted into Slytherin."

"Then I suppose I shouldn't give you this Hangover Potion," Takeshi said, holding up a small bottle. "Since I'm so heartless."

"I take it all back!" Aric cried out, reaching for the bottle eagerly. "You're an angel, 'Keshi!" He eagerly gulped down the potion despite its bitter taste, and the pounding in his head subsided to a dull throb. 

"Do you think that you can keep down some breakfast?" Takeshi asked. "Or at least drink something? Nonalcoholic, that is. Getting some fluids into you will make you feel better in the long run."

Aric paused to check with his stomach, which felt slightly queasy although nowhere near as sick as he would have been if he hadn't taken the potion. "I think I could manage some tea and toast."

Takeshi left and returned a few minutes later with a tray holding a pot of tea and a plate of unbuttered toast. The tea was weak, mostly water, which his stomach found soothing. After he downed a cup of tea with no sign of it coming back up again, he started nibbling on the toast, taking small bites and chewing very slowly before he swallowed in order to make sure that the food stayed in his stomach.

"By the way," Takeshi said as he watched Aric eat, "you'll have to translate that song for me sometime. I don't speak German, but one of the tengu knows a little--"

"How does a Japanese shapeshifter learn German?" Aric asked curiously.

"Crows are very curious creatures and great mimics," Takeshi replied. "This one spent some time living among the Muggles, and made the acquaintance of a German businessman who was working in a Tokyo branch office. Anyway, he said that he couldn't follow all of the lyrics, but they seemed to be rather obscene."

Aric choked on his toast and had to wash it down with a gulp of tea. "I really was singing in front of everyone, then?" he asked, his face turning red. "I was sort of hoping I'd dreamed that part."

"No, it was quite real," Takeshi said cheerfully. "The tengu were taking turns singing, and then someone urged you to give us a song, and you were more than happy to jump up on the table and start singing." Aric groaned and Takeshi laughed. "So what was the song about, anyway?"

Still blushing, Aric mumbled, "It involves a wizard and a tavern wench and...well, I'd rather not go into any more detail, if it's all the same to you." He took a big bite of toast in order to give himself an excuse to stop talking. Takeshi laughed again, but allowed him to drop the subject.

After he finished his breakfast, Aric returned to bed (or rather, to his futon), and sighed with relief as Takeshi laid a cool, damp washcloth across his forehead, which eased the lingering pain that the potion had not cured.

"Ahh," Aric sighed happily. "It's nice to have your own personal mediwizard to take care of you."

"Since you're a mediwizard too now, I ought to make you take care of yourself," Takeshi said, but he looked pleased by Aric's words. "Still, I guess I should have warned you that the tengu can drink any normal human man--and any werewolf, apparently--under the table. So I suppose it's my duty to nurse you back to health. Get some rest, my wolf." He bent down to kiss Aric on the cheek, and gently stroked Aric's hair. And Aric closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, lulled into slumber by the soothing caresses of his mate.

*** 

Lupin and Snape went home a few weeks ahead of Takeshi and Aric, and arrived at Snape Manor to find Selima and Molly in the drawing room chatting over tea as if they were old friends.

"Welcome back, Severus, Professor," Selima said serenely. "Won't you sit down and have some tea with us? Molly has made a most wonderful lemon-poppyseed cake."

"I brought extra since Selima said that you were returning today," Molly said brightly. "Did you have a good trip?"

"It was very productive," Snape replied coolly, a slight lifting of his eyebrow being the only indication that he was somewhat taken aback by Molly's presence. "We've made vast improvements to the Pain's Ease Potion, among other things. We've found a way to use less dangerous ingredients without affecting its potency."

"That is indeed good news, Severus," Selima said, nodding approvingly. That potion was one that he had brewed for his father during his illness. None of Severin's regular Healers had been able to prescribe it for him, since it was very difficult to make, as it contained a number of ingredients that were poisonous in the wrong dosage.

"And also a more effective salve to treat serious burn wounds," Snape continued, then stopped himself from lecturing further. Both women were listening politely, but he knew that they didn't really have much interest in potion-brewing. "But I'll save my lecture for Dylan, since he's the only one in the house not likely to be bored by it," Snape finished.

"Oh, but I am interested, at least in the burn salve," Molly said with a rueful smile. "Fred and George suffered another accident while you were gone. They were trying to create exploding Easter eggs, of all things, and managed to blow up half their workshop!"

"I hope that they're all right," Lupin said.

"They are, although they singed off their eyebrows and a good deal of their hair," Molly sighed. "But mine shall turn completely gray at this rate!"

"Then perhaps Severus could brew some hair dye for you," Lupin laughed, ignoring the affronted look that his lover gave him, at the idea of wasting his skills on something so trivial. "Or at least a Hair-Raising Potion for Fred and George! Let us take our bags upstairs, and then we'll join you for tea."

"That's not necessary," Selima said, ringing a small silver bell, and Vorcher instantly appeared. "Take their bags to their room," she instructed the house-elf.

"At once, Mistress!" Vorcher said.

"Er, that's not really necessary..." Lupin started to protest.

"Of course Vorcher cannot allow Master Severus to carry luggage like a servant!" the house-elf exclaimed, looking horrified. "Why, Vorcher would be shamed! Vorcher could never again hold his head up--"

"Just take the bags, please, Vorcher," Snape interrupted, a pained look on his face.

"Yes, Master!" Vorcher said obediently.

"Here, Vorcher, this is for you," Lupin said, pulling a small box out of his pocket. "It's a little souvenir from Japan."

"Not clothes?"Vorcher asked anxiously.

"He can't dismiss you, even if he gives you clothes," Snape said irritably. "Only your Master--that would be me--can dismiss you."

"It's not clothes," Lupin said gently. "It's just a box of sweets that I bought in the village."

"Vorcher is not worthy of such a gift," the house-elf said, but he smiled joyfully as he took the box from Lupin. "Vorcher is only a servant. Vorcher--"

"Vorcher is going to take the bags up to the Master's room," Selima interjected, in a gentler voice than she would normally have used, probably due to Molly's presence, but there was still a hint of impatience beneath it.

"Yes, Mistress!" Vorcher said, making a quick gesture with his hand, and the suitcases floated up and hovered a few inches above the floor. He scampered out of the room, still grinning happily at the box of candy, while the suitcases trailed along behind him.

Selima sighed, but refrained from scolding Lupin for spoiling the house-elf as she normally would have. Lupin just chuckled, and sat down on the couch and helped himself to a slice of cake. After hesitating for a moment, Snape followed suit. He didn't really care much for socializing with Molly Weasley, but his mother obviously expected him to be polite, and the cake did look very tasty. 

"Mmm, it's delicious, Molly!" Lupin said after taking a bite, and Snape nodded in agreement. She was a good cook, and he could almost like her if not for her seven annoying children. Well, actually Ginny Weasley was intelligent and well-behaved, and she wasn't a pompous prig like Percy, but that was annoying in itself, since she rarely gave him an excuse to dock points from Gryffindor.

"Thank you for the cake, Molly," Snape said grudgingly, after his mother gave him a pointed look and Lupin discreetly elbowed him in the side.

"Oh, it's I who should be thanking you and your mother, Severus," Molly said earnestly. "Selima has been a godsend to me, helping me plan Bill and Fleur's wedding. It's turning into such a big to-do, with the guest list growing longer every day. Half of those people I'd rather not invite, but it will cause problems for Arthur if they feel slighted...I wouldn't know what to do without your mother's advice."

"You're doing fine, Molly," Selima said soothingly. "It's just that I have a little more experience with planning large parties. Don't worry, dear, everything will turn out just fine." She smiled slyly. "And you might be planning another wedding soon enough, so it will be good practice. Young Ron seems sweet on the Greengrass girl, and he is apprenticing with her father..."

That set Molly off, and soon she was going on and on about how sweet Daphne Greengrass was, and how the Greengrasses would be providing the flowers for Bill's wedding. Snape's eyes glazed over as he tried to concentrate on his tea and cake and tune out her inane chatter. He was trying to calculate how soon he could excuse himself without angering his mother, when to his relief, Dylan and Cabal ran into the room, providing a distraction.

"Professor, Remus, you're back!" Dylan said happily. He had obviously been out walking the dog, because he was holding onto the end of the leash while Cabal half-dragged him along, eager to greet his master. Dylan unhooked the leash from the collar, and Cabal ran to Lupin, jumped up, placing his paws on Lupin's chest, and began licking Lupin's face, barking ecstatically.

"Down!" Selima snapped sternly, and Cabal gave Lupin's face one last lick, then dropped to the floor with a sheepish expression on his face. He curled up at Lupin's feet, as tamely as a lapdog, although he did look up hopefully, as if watching for any stray crumbs that might fall from Lupin's plate.

"Honestly, Professor," Selima scolded as Molly lifted a hand to her face to hide a smile. "You must teach that beast better manners."

"You seem to have things well in hand, Lady Selima," Lupin said with a grin.

"And he did try to protect me when the Rev...when Rabastan Lestrange attacked me," Dylan added, bending down to pet Cabal. "How was your vacation? Did you have a good time?"

So Snape told him about his potion research, and Lupin talked about the wedding and the Tanabata festival and the Japanese werewolf pack, dropping bits of cake to Cabal every now and then when Selima wasn't looking.

"And what about you, Dylan?" Lupin asked. "What have you been doing while we've been gone?"

"Oh, I've kept busy," Dylan replied. "I've been looking after Cabal, of course. And I've been helping Draco teach the werewolves to play Quidditch, and I've been volunteering at the clinic. Serafina and Draco have been spending a lot of time there, too." He grinned. "Well, Serafina's been spending a lot of time there because it's good practice for a future Healer, and Draco's just there because he wants to spend time around Serafina."

"I'm glad that the clinic's not shorthanded while Takeshi is gone, then," Lupin said with a smile.

"Theodore wrote to say that Master Tremayne is giving him a couple of days off so that he can come home and celebrate his birthday with us. Oh, and I took Hermione to visit Uncle Math and Aunt Goewin. She was horrified to learn that we have house-elves, but I think that we managed to convince her that they're more like family than servants. She's not really happy about it, but she can see that they don't want to leave us." Selima rolled her eyes slightly but said nothing, and Dylan smiled and continued, "And Ariana is walking now. It's hard to tell with a baby, but she seems to know when things are going to happen before they actually happen, like the time that she cried until I moved out from under the apple tree and a branch crashed down where we'd been standing. Aunt Goewin thinks that she's going to be a great Seer."

"Unlike Professor Trelawney," Snape muttered under his breath. 

"Well, she didn't do too badly with her predictions last year," Dylan laughed. "She said that I would face great danger, and I did. She also said that Aric would be faced with a life-altering decision, and you can't get much more life-altering than choosing to be turned into a werewolf."

"Hmmph!" Snape snorted. "Anyone, even a Muggle, can make a bunch of predictions so vague that some of them are bound to come true."

Lupin laughed. "Speaking of Professors, there will be a new teacher at Hogwarts this year."

"Really?" Dylan asked curiously. "Who?"

"His name is Tsubasa. He's Takeshi's cousin, and one of the crane folk, but he's also an expert swordsman who studied under Master Karasu. His specialty in magic is Transfiguration, so he'll be assisting both Lukas and Professor McGonagall with their classes."

"Oh dear," Molly sighed. "I have nothing against a cultural exchange program, but I wish that Albus would get rid of dangerous classes like Physical Defense."

"Well, I think it sounds like fun," Dylan said with a grin. "I'm really looking forward to the new school year."

"I don't know about 'fun,' but I hope that it will at least be quieter at Hogwarts this year, with Potter and his friends gone," Snape said, somewhat pessimistic about his hopes being fulfilled. After all, he'd thought that last year would be a quiet year, too, and he'd certainly been wrong about that!

"If nothing else, I'm sure that it will be interesting," Lupin laughed, and Snape glared at him, as if Lupin were deliberately jinxing things with his words.

*** 

Takeshi finally finished plucking enough feathers to make a robe, and took them to his brother at the Weavers' Hall. Ichiro nodded approvingly, saying, "Yes, this should be more than enough to make a full-length robe. What kind of robe do you want me to make? A British-style robe, or a kimono? And what sorts of colors and designs would you like?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Aric admitted, blushing a little. Whenever he thought about wearing a robe made from Takeshi's feathers, he rarely got past fantasizing about the sensation of silk against his skin. He'd never bothered to think about styles and colors.

"I think that Aric would look very handsome in a kimono," Takeshi said, looking at Aric and smiling, as if envisioning him in an imaginary kimono.

"A kimono is fine, then," Aric said agreeably. Anything that could make his mate smile at him that way was just fine with Aric. He didn't really care what form the robe took as long as he could wear Takeshi's feathers against his skin.

"Good," Ichiro said pleasantly. "What color would you like it to be, and do you have any particular design in mind?"

"I don't know," Takeshi said uncertainly. "Slytherin colors are green and silver, but our St. Mungo's uniforms are green, too, so maybe you'd rather wear something different when we're not at work, Aric?"

Aric shrugged. "I like wearing black robes, but it doesn't really matter what color it is. I would be happy to wear anything made from Takeshi's feathers."

"Will you leave it to my discretion, then?" Ichiro asked. 

"Yes, please," Aric replied. "I'm sure that anything you make will be beautiful, Ichiro."

His brother-in-law smiled happily, looking very pleased. Takeshi explained later that the weavers considered themselves to be artists, not just mere tailors. Ichiro would create a robe to the wearer's specifications if they wished, but what he enjoyed most was weaving robes of his own design.

"It will take several days to complete the kimono," Ichiro said. "I'll bring it to you when it's done."

"How do you weave feathers into cloth, anyway?" Aric asked curiously.

"Like this," Ichiro replied. He picked up one of Takeshi's feathers, holding it by the quill end, then gently tugged at the tip of the feather with his thumb and forefinger, and the feather seemed to unravel into a long, white thread.

"Amazing," Aric said. "I've never seen anything like that, not even in Transfiguration class."

"It's an ability unique to the crane people," Ichiro explained. "Human wizards have never been able to duplicate it, although many have tried."

"Can you weave other types of feathers into silk?" Aric asked. "You said that you made some black thread from Karasu's feathers for the princess's wedding robe."

"It's possible to turn other types of feathers into thread," Ichiro replied. "But we rarely do so, since it's a tedious process, transforming the feathers one by one, and only the feathers of the crane folk create that extraordinarily smooth and beautiful silk. I used Karasu's feathers in the wedding robe mainly for symbolic purposes." 

"Well, thank you, Ichiro," Aric said, bowing to his brother-in-law; the gesture now came naturally to him, after the weeks he'd spent living here in the valley. "For making the kimono. I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure," Ichiro said with a smile. "It will take awhile for me to weave the kimono, as I said, so you ought to have Takeshi entertain you in the meantime."

Aric gave Takeshi a sly grin, and his mate blushed slightly and said wryly, "I believe that I have been keeping Aric sufficiently entertained, Niisan. If I 'entertain' him any more, I might collapse from exhaustion." Aric feigned a look of puzzled innocence.

Ichiro laughed and clarified, "I meant that you should show him the sights, little brother. Aric's spent all his time here in the valley so far, hasn't he? You should take him to the city, let him see how the ippanjin--the Muggles--live. It will be educational, and he'll have a chance to buy some interesting souvenirs to take back home to his friends."

Takeshi gave Aric a doubtful look, no doubt thinking that someone who had been raised as a Slytherin and a pureblood would have little interest in venturing into the Muggle world. All his life, Aric had expressed scorn for all things Muggle like a good pureblood should, but he--like many other young purebloods--was actually rather curious about them. It was a natural Slytherin trait to break the rules and seek out the forbidden, and what could be more tantalizingly forbidden than a trip into a Muggle city?

"I'd like that," Aric said.

"Here, you can use my credit card," Ichiro told Takeshi, tossing a small plastic card to him. "You can pay me back in wizard money later."

"Credit card?" Aric asked curiously.

"You can use it instead of cash," Takeshi explained. "Um...it's sort of a portable I.O.U. card, like going shopping in Diagon Alley and having the store bill it to your Gringotts account."

"Ah, I see," Aric said. He had little understanding of Muggle technology and customs, but that idea he could grasp. It was common for the wealthy pureblood families, his own included, to simply charge expensive purchases to their account rather than carry around a large bag of coins. Since the wealthiest families were well-known among the shopkeepers, there was usually no need to identify themselves with a card, although occasionally a servant might be sent to make a purchase with a promissory note signed and sealed by the Lord or Lady of the family.

"We'll need to make a few preparations for our outing, though," Takeshi said, frowning thoughtfully as he gazed at Aric. "You can't go out among Muggles dressed in wizard's robes."

"I have to wear Muggle clothes?" Aric asked, beginning to have second thoughts about the whole thing.

"Oh, come on," Takeshi coaxed. "It will be an adventure. Think of it as a disguise--which it is, actually."

"All right," Aric said with a shrug. He'd already worn a yukata to the Tanabata festival after all, which in Aric's mind meant that he had walked around in public wearing little more than the equivalent of a bathrobe. How bad could wearing Muggle clothes really be?

Ichiro and Takeshi both kept a few Muggle outfits stored away for such excursions. Outfitting Aric required a few adjustments, though, as Takeshi was slightly shorter than Aric, and Ichiro slightly taller, and both brothers had a much more slender frame than Aric, but in the end, Takeshi was able to cast a few charms to alter the clothing to the right size.

"You look very handsome, my love," Takeshi said approvingly. Aric wasn't sure that he really liked the outfit--close-fitting t-shirt and jeans, both in black--although he did like the appreciative look in his mate's eyes as Takeshi's gaze slowly traveled down Aric's body from head to toe and then back up again.

"If you say so," Aric said dubiously. "I feel a bit naked without a robe or cloak, though. Where am I supposed to put my wand?"

"You don't really need one," Takeshi pointed out. "The wizarding world is at peace, and besides, it's forbidden to use magic in front of Muggles."

"I don't care," Aric said stubbornly. "You never know when an emergency might come up. A Slytherin never goes anywhere without his wand. Can't I wear a coat or jacket and hide the wand in a pocket?"

"It's summer," Takeshi replied. "It's too hot to wear a heavy coat if we're going to be walking around outdoors. You could cast a cooling charm, I suppose, but then people will think it odd that you're not sweating. Hmm..." He reached into the closet and pulled out a backpack. "Here, you can put your wand in this, and use it to carry whatever souvenirs you purchase."

Aric reluctantly accepted it, grumbling a little under his breath that he wouldn't be able to draw his wand as quickly from the backpack as he could from a coat pocket. But he didn't argue too much, because he didn't really expect any emergencies to arise; it was more the principal of the thing. He was--or had been--a pureblood wizard, and a pureblood just didn't go strolling around without his or her wand.

"Don't worry, Aric," Takeshi said cheerfully. "I can use wandless magic, if necessary, remember?"

"I don't think that I could forget," Aric replied dryly. He had a very vivid recollection of being slammed into a row of shelving at the charity clinic after he'd made drunken advances on Takeshi one night.

His lover just grinned and winked at him mischievously, no doubt recalling the same incident. Takeshi was also dressed in Muggle clothing: jeans and a light blue button-down shirt. He had put aside his robes and wand, but still wore the jade serpent bracelet that Aric had given him even though it looked a bit out of place with his Muggle outfit. Aric was pleased to see that; he would secretly have been a little hurt if his mate had put aside his love token. And he liked knowing that the bracelet marked Takeshi as his mate, even if no one else knew what it meant.

Takeshi looked a little odd in his Muggle clothes, but still quite handsome. Then again, Takeshi would probably look beautiful even in clothes made from burlap bags. It was certainly true that Muggle clothing exposed a lot more of one's flesh and figure than the traditional long, loose wizard robes did.

"You look good," Aric said, nuzzling his mate's neck. He looked Takeshi over again, then added suspiciously, "I notice that your clothes seem a bit looser than mine. Are you sure that you enchanted them properly? They're not going to suddenly shrink and split their seams while I'm walking around in public, are they?"

"No, my love," Takeshi replied, still grinning. "The enchantment is permanent. I chose the fit that would...let us say...best enhance your physique, my wolf." He ran his hands along Aric's arms, pausing to squeeze his biceps--which were rather well-developed, if Aric did say so himself. "You keep in good shape, Aric. I suppose all that sparring you do must keep you fit, even if does give me anxiety attacks."

Aric preened at his lover's praise, and couldn't resist flexing his biceps. "Oh, it was all those years I spent playing the Beater position on the Durmstrang Quidditch team," he said casually. "It really builds up your muscles. I didn't play Quidditch at Hogwarts, of course, but I guess Physical Defense class kept me fit." He growled softly with pleasure as Takeshi's hands ran lightly down his arms, then caressed his chest. And then one of Takeshi's hands slipped around his waist and dropped a little lower, causing Aric to raise his eyebrows and ask incredulously, "Did you just pat my arse?"

"Who, me?" Takeshi replied, with a look of shocked innocence. "My hand just...slipped."

"I'll just bet it did," Aric said dryly, giving his mate a pointed look, eyes narrowed with Slytherin cynicism. Truthfully, however, he was rather flattered by the gesture.

"And anyway," Takeshi continued unrepentantly, "it's your fault for having such a nice arse." He let his eyes rest briefly on the body part in question. "You really do look good in jeans."

Aric grinned; maybe there were a few advantages to wearing Muggle clothing, after all! "You have a pretty nice one yourself," he replied, reaching out to pat his mate on the rump--it was only fair, after all, since Takeshi had done the same to him. Except that the pat turned into more of a squeeze and a grope, and Aric found that his jeans were beginning to feel not just snug, but uncomfortably tight, and it definitely didn't have anything to do with the cloth shrinking.

Takeshi pulled away, laughing a little breathlessly. "Not now, Aric!" he scolded playfully. "We'll miss the train."

"But you started it!" Aric protested, then pretended to pout. "You're such a little tease, 'Keshi."

"Ah, but you love me anyway," Takeshi said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "And besides, a little anticipation serves to whet the appetite."

"I'd like to devour you right now," Aric growled, staring at his mate hungrily.

Takeshi wavered for a moment, then sighed regretfully. "After we get back, my wolf," he said firmly. "Now come on, before we really do miss the train."

"Bloody sadist," Aric muttered under his breath as he followed Takeshi. However, his annoyance didn't stop him from admiring his lover's jeans-clad arse as he walked. It really was, as he'd pointed out, a nice one.

He asked Takeshi why they couldn't just Apparate, and his mate pointed out that it would probably cause a commotion if they suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the midst of a crowd of Muggles. "Besides, the train ride is part of the experience," Takeshi added cheerfully.

The train ride wasn't so bad, and Aric actually enjoyed watching the scenery through the window. It wasn't unlike riding the Hogwarts train, although it was too bad that they couldn't have a private compartment to themselves. He wondered what it would be like to make love on a train...

A sudden burst of giggles interrupted his little fantasy, and Aric became aware of a trio of teenage girls that were sitting a few rows across and behind them. The girls were whispering and giggling to each other in between sneaking peeks at himself and Takeshi. When Aric turned his head in their direction, they quickly blushed and looked away, and burst into another round of giggles.

"They're talking about us, aren't they?" Aric asked Takeshi in a low voice, worried that he had somehow blown their cover. Maybe the girls had noticed him saying or doing something odd, although he had been careful not to talk about magic, and Takeshi had said that most of the people on the train probably didn't speak much English.

"Indeed they are," Takeshi murmured, looking amused. "They're wondering if we are gaijin, foreigners. Well, obviously you are, but they aren't sure about me. I look Japanese, but Muggle men don't usually wear their hair this long. They wonder if perhaps I might be a singer or musician in a rock band, or maybe a martial artist--apparently they've seen Chinese movies where kung-fu warriors wear their hair in long braids. They think I look like a 'bishonen'--'beautiful boy'--type of character in a manga book, and they think that you look very handsome and 'otokorashi'--'manly'."

"Really? Me? Manly?" Aric asked, grinning. Not so many months ago, he would have found the girls' attention flattering, and would probably have flirted with them in return. Well, maybe not, since they were Muggles, and he had been a pureblood snob back then, but he would have enjoyed the attention. Actually, he was still a little flattered, although he had no intention of pursuing things further.

"You needn't look quite so pleased with yourself," Takeshi said wryly, pretending to glare at him.

Aric's grin grew even wider; he loved it when Takeshi acted jealous. "Aw, come on, you know that you're my one and only, 'Keshi."

Takeshi looked pleased, but he continued to feign annoyance, and sighed and said sarcastically, "I suppose I will have to get used to you drawing such attention, since you are so manly, my wolf."

They got off the train before the girls did, and Aric winked at them on his way out, and he heard their shocked and delighted squeals and giggles before the train doors closed, cutting off the sound.

"I'm beginning to get a picture of what you must have been like at Durmstrang," Takeshi told him, giving him another mock glare.

"You were a bit of a playboy yourself, weren't you?" Aric retorted good-naturedly. "It seems like every time I turn around, another ex-boyfriend of yours shows up!"

"You're exaggerating, Aric," Takeshi said, but he blushed a little. "Come on, let's do some shopping."

Although he had been looking forward to this adventure, Aric didn't really care for the Muggle city. It was crowded and noisy and smelly, with motor vehicles whizzing by on the streets, giving off noxious fumes that made Aric's sensitive werewolf nose wrinkle in distaste. Not to mention the fact that crossing the street made him nervous; the large metal contraptions looked as though they could quite easily crush fragile human flesh and bone. Well, actually, Aric was no longer human, and a werewolf wasn't exactly fragile, but he didn't care to test the limits of his lycanthropic healing powers.

Meanwhile, crowds of Muggles walked quickly past him on the sidewalk, as if they were in a hurry to get to their destinations, some of them chattering into little communication devices. (Aric thought at first that they were talking to themselves, until Takeshi explained what "cell phones" were.) The crowds, the noise, and the smell all combined to make Aric's inner wolf nervous and irritable, and he gritted his teeth together to keep himself from growling; he was sure that wouldn't go over very well with the Muggles.

Takeshi noticed the expression on his face, and suggested that they stop for coffee at a nearby cafe. It was blessedly quiet in the cafe, compared to the street outside, with just the muted sounds of people conversing quietly, and the occasional clinking of a spoon against glass as someone stirred their coffee or tea. The rich aroma of freshly-brewed coffee smelled very good, too. They lingered in the shop for awhile, giving Aric's inner wolf time to calm down and relax while they drank coffee and ate pastries that were very good but somewhat overpriced, if Aric was calculating the yen-to-Galleons ratio correctly. But then again, Takeshi had said that things in Japan tended to be more expensive than they were in Britain.

After they finished their coffee, they went back out, and Aric found that he was able to brace himself against the crowds and noises and smells now that he knew what to expect. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but he could bear with it for a single day; it was an adventure, after all. It would be a different story if he had to live in this Muggle city full-time.

The Muggle stores were filled with an interesting and bewildering array of goods; Aric wasn't entirely sure what some of them did, even after Takeshi tried to explain it to him. Aric regretted that he didn't have more money to spend; he hadn't yet started his job at St. Mungo's, so all he had was what was left of the spending money his parents had given him to use at Hogwarts. Of course, Takeshi was paying for all of their purchases with Muggle money or his brother's credit card, but Aric wanted to pay him back for his own purchases, although Takeshi had told him that it wasn't necessary. He might not be a pureblood anymore, but he still had his pride.

So he regretfully set aside a beautiful but expensive kimono that would have looked great on Erika, and instead bought his sister a set of pretty hair combs made from lacquered and enameled wood. He knew that Theo and Dylan could read a little Japanese, so he found books that he thought they might like, and some inexpensive toys and trinkets for the cubs in the pack. For Lukas, he bought a letter-opener shaped like a samurai sword. He couldn't afford to buy individual presents for the rest of the pack, so he ended up getting boxes of sweets for them to share.

In between shopping, they stopped to sample some snacks that Takeshi insisted Aric just had to try--the streets seemed to be filled with numerous food stands, restaurants, cafes, and bakeries. They munched on small skewers of grilled meat, steamed buns filled with ground pork, more of those takoyaki octopus balls (which Aric refused to eat), and some little fish-shaped pastries called taiyaki that were filled with a sweet bean paste and which Aric very cautiously sampled after Takeshi promised him that there was no octopus (or any other slimy, tentacled animal) in it. It was actually pretty good, and Aric devoured two of the taiyaki while he marveled that for such a skinny guy, Takeshi sure was able to put away a lot of food. Maybe shapeshifting used up a lot of energy; after all, Aric ate a lot more than he used to now that he was a werewolf.

They passed by a theater, and Takeshi asked, "Would you like to see a movie? It'll be in Japanese, though, so you probably won't be able to understand most of the dialogue."

"Sure," Aric replied eagerly; this was supposed to be an adventure, after all. "That video thing you showed us was fun, even though I didn't really understand what was going on."

They bought some sodas and popcorn and sat down to watch the movie, which was very entertaining although Aric had only a vague idea of what was going on, even when Takeshi whispered a translation of the dialogue into his ear every now and then. The movie was set in the time of the samurai, so Aric mostly sat back and enjoyed the swordplay. There was also an impressive amount of gore--limbs being severed and fountains of blood spraying up from the wounds--which was fascinating in a rather gruesome way.

"That was great!" Aric enthused. "And very impressive, considering that they didn't use any magic. I assume that no one was actually killed during the making of the movie?" An amused Takeshi tried to explain about special effects, but Aric couldn't really follow it, especially the part about computers.

"Never mind," he said, waving off the explanation. "I don't really need to understand how it works to enjoy it. Hmm...maybe you ought to show that movie to the Weasley twins. I'm sure they could come up with some sort of fake limb that gushes blood. Wouldn't that be cool for a Halloween prank, to pretend to have someone cut off your arm or leg? And listen to all the girls scream?"

"I would never do that!" Takeshi laughed. "Because Fred and George might really do it, and then Mrs. Weasley would kill me for putting the idea into their heads! You have a rather twisted sense of humor, my friend."

"Well, I am a Slytherin," Aric said with a grin. "Is Mrs. Weasley really that scary?"

"Not quite as scary as Professor Snape," Takeshi admitted. "But she can run a pretty close second when she's really angry. You should have heard the Howler she sent to poor Ron in his second year, when he borrowed his father's flying car without permission."

Takeshi treated him to lunch--a thick steak, since he'd been craving one recently. The fish and rice and vegetables that were the main staples of the cranes' diet were tasty enough, but Aric's inner wolf hungered for meat. And despite the snacking they'd done earlier, Aric ate with good appetite and finished every bite of his meal.

After lunch, they resumed their shopping, buying some gifts for Takeshi's family and his friends and coworkers back home in England. Takeshi also bought some CDs and DVDs for himself, and some video games for Ash.

"But he isn't a smuggler anymore," Aric pointed out.

"He's always loved playing with these games," Takeshi said with a fond smile that would have made Aric jealous, except that it was also a little sad, which confused him. "He'll be pleased that he can keep them instead of selling them."

"Why does that make you sad?" Aric asked quietly. 

"Hm?" Takeshi replied, looking startled. "Oh, it's just that...Ash never talks much about his past, but I get the impression that he didn't have much of a childhood. Sometimes I wonder if the reason that he takes such pleasure in games and toys is because he didn't have any when he was growing up."

"Oh," Aric said, feeling a little ashamed of himself for being jealous. He'd probably had a pretty soft life, compared to most of the other werewolves. "Well, I hope he'll like these games, then." He tried to calculate how much he'd spent so far, then decided that he still had a bit leftover, and if it wasn't enough, he'd pay Takeshi back after he got his first paycheck from St. Mungo's. "I'd like to buy him one, too, then, if you can help me pick out something he'd like. I don't know much about video games."

Takeshi smiled at him warmly. "I can teach you, when we get back home, or you could ask Ash to show you. Although I'm sure that Professor Snape would say that it's a dreadful waste of time."

Aric grinned, thinking to himself that if everything went well, he would be bringing another gift home for Ash--Tsubasa. Of course, he couldn't openly state that Tsubasa was a "gift," so the video game would have to do for now, but if things worked out between the two of them, Aric intended to take full credit for getting them together.

They finished up their shopping and took the train home soon after that. Aric had enjoyed his excursion into the Muggle world, but he was glad that he didn't have to live there. And he did very much enjoy taking those Muggle clothes off of Takeshi when they were finally alone in their room together.

*** 

Aric decided that one trip into the city was enough for him, but over the next week or so, they paid visits to Kamiyama-sensei's temple, and to the Muggle village located near the temple. There were still cars and electricity and whatnot in the village, but things were quieter and a little less hectic there, so he enjoyed his visits there more. There were lots of good places to eat, and the villagers were very friendly. And if they thought Aric was a little odd, they chalked it up to him being a gaijin who was unfamiliar with Japanese culture. They were used to the local priest having eccentric visitors, whom Kamiyama passed off as scholars studying Japanese history.

During this time, Ichiro was working on Aric's kimono, but wouldn't let them see it until it was done. And finally, shortly before they were due to return home to England, Ichiro announced that the kimono was finished.

He brought it to the guest cottage when Takeshi and Aric were alone one afternoon; Takeshi's parents had taken their grandchildren out on a picnic. Ichiro had folded up the kimono and wrapped it in plain cloth--to protect the silk, he said, although Aric suspected that he also wanted to draw out the suspense. Aric watched, eager and impatient, while Ichiro slowly unwrapped the parcel and held up the kimono for them to see.

It was an ankle-length robe of glossy midnight-black silk--the exact same shade as Takeshi's hair--with long, wide sleeves; the edges were trimmed with a border of shimmering silver. It was difficult to tell in the afternoon sunlight, but Aric could almost swear that the silver cloth would shine in the dark--not a flashy metallic glare, but rather a soft glow, like the light of the moon. It was simply cut and designed, but very elegant and beautiful.

"It's lovely, Niisan," Takeshi said.

"It's beautiful," Aric said in heartfelt agreement. "Thank you so much, Ichiro...Niisan."

"You're welcome, little brother," Ichiro replied, smiling at him warmly. "But you haven't seen the rest of it yet." He turned the robe around so that they could see the back, and Aric gasped. A full silver moon was painted on the back of the kimono--no, not painted; upon closer inspection, silver thread had been woven into the actual fabric of the robe--and the moon outlined the black silhouette of a howling wolf. Again, it was a simple design, and yet breathtakingly beautiful. He and Takeshi just stared at it for a long moment, and Ichiro asked anxiously, "Do you like it?"

"Oh, Niisan," Takeshi whispered, tears welling in his eyes. "It's perfect." 

Aric had to blink back a tear or two himself. "It's...it's beautiful, Ichiro," he said in a husky voice. "I just don't know what else to say."

"Your face says it all," Ichiro replied with a smile, looking pleased and relieved. "I'm glad that you like it."

"I love it, Niisan," Takeshi said. He wrapped his arms around Aric, kissed him on the cheek, and laughed, "It's perfect! The wolf looks just like Aric."

Aric laughed along with him, leaning into his mate's embrace. "I'll have to take your word for it. I've never looked at myself in a mirror when I was a wolf."

"Try it on, Aric," Takeshi urged.

"I'll take my leave now," Ichiro said. "I'm glad that you like the kimono."

"Don't you want to see how it looks on Aric, Niisan?" Takeshi asked.

"It's a lover's token," Ichiro said, smiling at them knowingly. "I think that for the first time, at least, Aric ought to don it in private, for your eyes alone." He chuckled as Takeshi and Aric both blushed, then bowed and Disapparated.

"Um..." Aric said, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy and self-conscious. He wanted to tell Takeshi to leave the room or turn his back while he got dressed, which was rather silly, considering how many times they'd seen each other naked.

"It's a little too late to be worrying about your modesty, my wolf," Takeshi teased, but obligingly turned his back to Aric while he undressed.

Aric stripped down to his underpants, then picked up the kimono, marveling at how fine and delicate the cloth felt, light as gossamer, as if it had been woven from cobwebs or...well...feathers. But when he tentatively tugged at the cloth, he could tell that it was much stronger than it looked, and he suspected that it would not tear even if he pulled at it with all his werewolf strength--not that he intended to put it to the test.

He slipped his arms into the sleeves of the kimono and gasped out loud at the incredibly sensuous feeling of the silk sliding across his skin. He'd worn silk shirts before, but he'd never felt anything as smooth and soft as this--except for Takeshi's hair and feathers. A soft moan escaped his lips as he wrapped the robe around himself, feeling the silk glide across the bare skin of his arms and legs, his back and chest, like the gentle caress of a lover. The cloth brushed against his nipples, just the slightest feather-light touch, but they hardened instantly, and Aric bit down hard on his lower lip to suppress another moan. He suddenly felt an urge to take off his underpants and let the silk touch the most intimate parts of his body. As it was, he was practically ready to orgasm just from the sensation of the silk touching his skin in places that he didn't normally consider particularly erogenous.

Takeshi turned around when he heard the moan. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Aric mumbled, ducking his head to hide his blush. He held the edges of the robe together, since the kimono had no buttons or fastenings, and looked around for a belt.

"Here, let me help you," Takeshi volunteered. It turned out that there was a silver sash in the parcel Ichiro had left behind, and Takeshi helped Aric tie it around his waist, smoothing down the folds of the kimono and wrapping it a little more securely around Aric's body as he did so.

The light pressure of his lover's hands touching him through a layer of silk felt so incredible that it was almost unbearable. "There is no way that I can ever wear this thing in public, 'Keshi," he groaned.

"Why not?" Takeshi asked, taking a couple of steps back to look Aric over and gaze at him admiringly. "You look very handsome."

"It's not that," Aric said. "It's just..." He decided that it would be easier to show his mate rather than explain it to him, and grabbed Takeshi's hand, pulling it between the folds of the robe and pressing it firmly against his crotch.

"Oh!" Takeshi gasped, looking startled and amused. "I see," he murmured, his fingers closing around Aric's erection, gently stroking and teasing him through the cloth of his underpants.

Aric groaned again, thinking about how incredible it would feel if Takeshi was stroking him through the silk cloth instead. He wondered if he could ask his brother-in-law to make him some feather-silk underwear, then decided that he would be too embarrassed.

"The silk just feels so...incredible," Aric said, in a low, husky growl. "I've never felt silk so smooth. But it's not just the quality of the silk--it's knowing that it's made from your feathers. It's like wearing you on my skin, feeling you wrapped around me. It's unbelievably erotic...I've never felt anything like it." He wrapped his arms around Takeshi's waist and pulled him close. "I'll never be able to wear this robe without getting turned on," he growled into Takeshi's ear, and felt his mate shiver with pleasure. He dropped his mouth lower, to kiss and nip at Takeshi's neck. "I'll never be able to wear it without wanting to grab you and take you, right then and there, no matter where we are."

"Then wear it just for me, my wolf," Takeshi whispered, and kissed him.

Aric returned the kiss hungrily, greedily, almost devouring rather than kissing his mate's mouth. Takeshi let his hands drift upwards, slowly and languidly caressing Aric's chest and back through the silk, until Aric was forced to break off the kiss and moan loudly. To feel Takeshi's hands moving across his body, not touching his skin directly but caressing him through the silk, the coolness of the cloth providing a stark contrast to his overheated body, ironically both soothing him and enflaming him further at the same time--it was all so exquisitely pleasurable that it was like a kind of blissful torture. He was so overwhelmed that all he could do for a few minutes was to just stand in place, moaning helplessly.

And then Takeshi lowered his head and closed his mouth over Aric's nipple, licking and sucking and nibbling at it through the silk, the cloth growing damp as his saliva soaked through it, and Aric finally lost control, instinctively letting the wolf take over. He shoved Takeshi down on the futon mattress, tearing frantically at his clothes. Fortunately, Takeshi had taken to wearing a kimono most of the time while they were living in the valley--because if he'd had to deal with buttons, Aric would probably have just ripped the shirt off his mate's body.

He kissed and nipped at his lover's bare skin, allowing Takeshi to caress him through the silk a little longer, until he finally took off his own kimono with slightly more care than he'd removed Takeshi's, a small part of his mind still being rational enough not to want to damage his brother-in-law's precious gift. Takeshi groaned, arching his body upwards to rub against Aric's, and the feeling of skin on skin was even better than the feeling of the silk against his skin. Aric felt like he'd died and gone to heaven.

He kissed the hollow of Takeshi's throat, then lightly scraped his teeth against the soft skin there as Takeshi moaned again. He bit down, gently at first, his tongue stroking the flesh caught between his teeth, tasting the salt of sweat on his lover's skin. Then he bit and sucked harder as Takeshi's body writhed beneath his with growing urgency, until he pulled away and saw with satisfaction that he'd left behind a large bruise on Takeshi's throat, the wolf's mark on its mate.

"Mine," Aric growled, his eyes glittering ferally, and he abruptly flipped Takeshi over onto his stomach. He wanted to take his mate, claim him the way that a wolf would. Takeshi must have cast a summoning charm, although Aric hadn't heard him utter an incantation, because he pushed a jar of mint-scented cream into Aric's hand. Aric scooped out a handful of cream and liberally coated himself with it. He was already so aroused that he nearly came on the spot, and only sheer stubbornness enabled him to rein in his libido--that and the wolf's determination to claim its mate. Simple masturbation would not suffice; he needed to feel himself inside his mate, needed to make his mate cry out in pleasure.

His hand trembling slightly from the effort it took to control his desire, he reached out and pressed first one and then two fingers into his mate. He tried not to be too rough, but his need was too great for gentleness. But Takeshi didn't seem to mind; in fact, he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, driving Aric's fingers deeper inside him. "Mine," Aric growled again, his fingers moving with more speed and enthusiasm now that he knew that he wasn't hurting his mate. "You're mine," Aric growled, pushing a third finger into his mate, feeling a fierce sense of triumph and possessiveness when Takeshi cried out loud.

"Y...yours," Takeshi gasped. "I'm...yours." He groaned, his body rocking back and forth, moving in sync with Aric's fingers. "Please...take me...claim me...I'm yours...my wolf."

Aric didn't wait to be asked twice. He withdrew his hand and slammed hard into his mate with a swift thrust. "Mine...mine...mine," he growled, over and over again as he pounded into his mate relentlessly, with no finesse, no attempt at prolonging things for his lover's pleasure, nothing but raw animalistic lust.

A tiny sliver of consciousness beneath the lust of the wolf that was fogging Aric's mind felt guilt over using his mate so crudely. But when he reached beneath him, sliding his hand down Takeshi's belly and between his legs, he could feel how hard his mate was, how much his mate wanted him. He began stroking Takeshi quickly and roughly in time with his thrusts, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to last for more than a couple of minutes and wanting to bring his mate along with him when he came.

"Y-yours," Takeshi gasped, his body moving in perfect rhythm with Aric's. "Yours...oh yes...please...all yours..."

When he couldn't hold back any longer, Aric leaned forward, pressing his chest against Takeshi's back, pressing his nose to Takeshi's skin and drinking in the scent of his mate. And then he snarled and sank his teeth into the back of Takeshi's neck. Takeshi cried out, climaxing instantly, and Aric threw back his head and howled as he spilled his seed into his mate, the wolf's way of triumphantly announcing to the world that he had claimed his mate as his own.

They collapsed onto the mattress together, gasping for breath, and Aric automatically rolled over so that he wasn't smothering his mate with the weight of his body.

"Sorry," he said, feeling sated and yet slightly disgruntled with himself.

"What for?" Takeshi asked, snuggling against Aric's side. "That was wonderful."

"Mm...well, I could've lasted a bit longer," Aric said sheepishly. "What happened to all that werewolf stamina that Lupin told you about?" He turned his head and glanced at the black-and-silver kimono which was now lying on the floor. "I guess the silk got me all worked up..."

Takeshi laughed, reaching out to trace random patterns on Aric's chest with his fingertips; Aric growled softly with pleasure. "If I had known how 'worked up' it would get you, I might have had Niisan weave the robe for you earlier."

"It got me a little too worked up," Aric said ruefully.

"We can try again later," Takeshi said with a smile. "After I've had a chance to recover."

"I think that I'm beginning to recover," Aric said, nuzzling Takeshi's neck with renewed interest. "Have I ever told you how good you smell?"

"Aric, I'm not a werewolf!" Takeshi laughingly protested. "I need a little more time than that!"

"How much more time?" Aric asked with a grin, continuing to nuzzle his mate's neck while his hands began roaming across his mate's body.

"Ah..." Takeshi sighed.

"Maybe it won't take as much time as you think," Aric murmured. "Didn't Lupin say that the wolf's desire is contagious?"

"Mmm...it's just a theory...ahh..."

Theory or not, things were starting to look promising, when to Aric's horror, he suddenly heard the sound of small footsteps running down the hall towards their room, and the twins' voices calling, "Takeshi-niisan! Aric-niisan! Are you home?"

"Argh!" Aric exclaimed, jumping up from the mattress and scrambling frantically for his wand. "Your parents came back early with the twins and the door's not locked!" There actually weren't any manual locks on the sliding doors of the bedroom, so they had to be locked magically. In fact, the crane folk didn't normally lock the doors of their houses at all, since theft was not a problem in the isolated valley, and the crane folk all respected one another's privacy. Except of course for the young children who didn't seem to have a proper understanding of privacy...

Takeshi calmly chanted an incantation and made a gesture with his hands just before Kumi and Shoko would have burst into the room.

"Hey, the door's locked!"

"What are you doing in there, Takeshi-niisan?"

"We'll be right out," Takeshi called out cheerfully, but Aric could hear the suppressed laughter in his voice.

"Kumi-chan, Shoko-chan!" Haruko's voice called, in a gently chiding tone. "It's rude to enter someone's room without being invited. Come, I'll fix you a snack while we wait for Takeshi and Aric."

Takeshi fell back onto the mattress laughing hysterically while Aric glared at him.

"Well, I'm glad somebody thinks that's funny," Aric said in a surly voice. "What if they had walked in on us like this?!"

"I...I'm sorry, Aric," Takeshi gasped between fits of laughter. "It's just...you should have seen...the expression on your face!" Then he gave up trying to speak, and just lay there laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks. Aric growled sulkily, then cast a cleaning spell and began to get dressed while he waited for his mate to recover.

"I'm sorry, love," Takeshi finally said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He reached for his clothes and said with a grin, "I guess I'll have to take a rain check." Aric sulked a little longer, but he couldn't really stay mad at his mate, particularly when Takeshi came over and kissed him lightly on the mouth, then whispered, "I'll make it up to you tonight."

Aric kissed him back, then picked the silk kimono up off the floor and hung it carefully in the closet. "I'll wear this again," he said. "But not until we're alone and I'm sure that we won't be interrupted."

*** 

A few days later, Aric returned home with the Kimura family, the black-and-silver kimono packed safely away in his suitcase. Tsubasa went along with them, and most of the inhabitants of the valley turned up to see him off, somewhat to Aric's surprise.

"They might think that he's a little odd," Takeshi whispered into Aric's ear. "They might even disapprove of his lifestyle, but he is still part of the clan, so they will still turn out to bid him farewell and wish him a safe journey."

"It's a journey of an instant," Aric pointed out, as they were traveling by Portkey.

"To wish him well in his new life, then," Takeshi said with a smile.

Tsubasa hugged and kissed his parents goodbye, promising to write often. Ichiro gave him a surprise gift of a few British-style robes, shirts, and trousers that he had sewn himself. "I know that you prefer to wear a kimono and hakama," Ichiro said as he handed over the package. "But you never know when you might need a formal dress robe for a school function."

"Thank you," Tsubasa said, accepting the package with a small bow. "I'll wear them with pride."

Even Kazuhiko had turned out to see Tsubasa off, and gave him a beautiful silk fan painted with a landscape featuring the lake in the valley. "So that you do not forget your birthplace," he said, although the pessimistic look on his face said that he thought it was probably already too late. 

Tsubasa accepted the gift graciously, though, and said politely, "I would never forget my place of birth, Kazuhiko-sama. It will always be in my heart no matter how far away I am."

"Don't worry, Kazuhiko-sama," Haruko said with a gentle smile. "We'll look after Tsubasa-kun and take good care of him."

Kazuhiko bowed silently in reply, but a quick and pointed glance at Aric indicated that he did not think very highly of her ability to look after her own son, let alone someone else's. Takeshi and Haruko looked more amused than annoyed, so Aric decided not to take offense.

They took the Portkey to the restaurant, and from there, they helped Tsubasa move his luggage through the Floo to his new home at Hogwarts. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Lupin were there to greet him and show him around the castle, so once all of Tsubasa's bags had been sent through, Aric and Takeshi took the Floo to their own apartment.

"Ah, bliss!" Aric sighed happily. "Not that I don't love your family, 'Keshi, but it's nice to finally be alone with you."

"Oh?" Takeshi asked, feigning a look of wide-eyed innocence. "And what would you like to do now that we're finally alone?"

Aric wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him close. "Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something..."

*** 

"Here you are," Lupin said cheerfully, ushering Tsubasa into his new quarters. "You've been assigned my old rooms, since the DADA instructor's quarters are vacant for obvious reasons." He smiled lovingly at Snape.

The Potions Master flushed and glared at his mate. "I'm sure that Professor Tsubasa isn't interested in your personal life, Lupin," he snapped.

Lupin just grinned at him and said, "You know, maybe we ought to get some sort of bonus or room allowance since we're saving the school money by sharing one room."

"It's not like Hogwarts has to pay rent on the castle, you idiot Gryffindor," Snape retorted. "There are more than enough rooms to go around; it doesn't make any financial difference whether you keep your own quarters or share mine." Then he noticed Tsubasa watching them, a blandly polite smile on his face, although Snape thought he detected a glint of amusement in the crane man's eyes. He hastily cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, we'll leave you to get settled in, Professor. The Headmaster has asked us to give you a tour of the castle later, if you're not too tired."

"I'm fine," Tsubasa assured him. "Although I'm sure that it will take a few days to adjust to the time difference. But at least I didn't have to spend several hours riding an airplane to get here."

"Muggle conveyances," Snape said contemptuously, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Well then, we'll come back for you in, say, an hour?" Lupin said pleasantly. "Dinner won't be served for a few hours more, but if you'd like a snack, you can call on the house-elves in the kitchen through the Floo."

"Thank you, Remus, but I'll be fine."

Lupin turned to leave, then paused and said, "Oh, and if you're up to it, you're invited to dinner at Diggory Manor tomorrow. Lukas--I've told you about him, haven't I?"

"Master Diggory, the Physical Defense instructor and Aric's pack leader," Tsubasa replied.

"Yes, well, he's throwing a little welcome-back party for Aric and Takeshi," Lupin continued. "And he'd like to welcome you to England as well, since you're Takeshi's cousin."

"That's very kind of him," Tsubasa said with a smile. "I would be honored to attend."

*** 

Lupin and Snape arrived early the next night, and spent some time chatting with Lukas, Narcissa, and Draco before the party started. Lupin had been a little worried that Draco might have some trouble adjusting to living with his new stepfamily, but he seemed fine. He was happy with his new job and his volunteer work; he seemed to get along well with the werewolves; and he didn't even seem jealous that Narcissa doted on the children in the pack like an indulgent aunt.

It probably helped that the younger werewolves, like most people their age, were all Quidditch-mad, and looked up to Draco because he had been the Seeker of the Slytherin team. Draco had always liked being the center of attention at school, which wasn't always a good thing, but this time he didn't seem to be letting the attention go to his head. According to Dylan, Draco had been working hard at coaching the werewolves in their informal Quidditch matches, and Lupin thought that it was a good chance for him to be a positive role model.

Lupin whispered this to Snape, when Draco was busy talking to one of the werewolves. "Draco, a positive role model?" Snape replied, looking amused. "And he's been doing volunteer work, too. Please tell me that he hasn't turned into a Gryffindor!"

"Well, Dylan did say that he was only helping out at the clinic because he wanted to spend time with Serafina," Lupin laughed.

"Ah, so he does have an ulterior motive, after all," Snape said with a grin. "I'm relieved to know that he's still a Slytherin at heart."

Narcissa, too, seemed to have adjusted to her new life remarkably well. Both Snape and Lupin were startled to hear the pack children address her as "Aunt Cissy".

"Hell may freeze over after all," Snape muttered, and Lupin scolded, "Shh!"

Lukas overheard them, but just grinned in response. He seemed more relaxed and happy than Lupin had ever seen him before in the entire time that they'd known each other. "So how are the cubs doing?" he asked Lupin.

Lupin reported that Theodore was doing very well at his apprenticeship, and Snape was complaining about Dylan visiting Hermione in the Muggle world, when Takeshi, Aric, and Tsubasa arrived.

Tsubasa cut quite an impressive figure; he was dressed like a samurai lord in a silk kimono, hakama trousers, and haori coat, although he had left his swords at home this time. But it wasn't just his clothing that was impressive, but also his ethereal beauty and grace. Lupin noticed that the differences between a full-blood and a part-blood crane became quite apparent with Takeshi and Tsubasa standing side-by-side. Takeshi was a very handsome young man, but Tsubasa was so beautiful that he seemed almost too perfect to be human. Well, technically he wasn't human, so maybe it wasn't really all that surprising, but he was certainly going to turn a lot of heads at Hogwarts, in much the same way that Chizuru had.

Many of the werewolves were casting admiring glances his way, but Ash in particular was completely stunned. His jaw dropped and he stared at the crane man as if he had forgotten that anything else in the world existed.

"Hmm," Lupin murmured to Snape, observing the scene with interest. "Do I detect a hint of romance in the air?"

"More like lust," Snape said cynically. "And poor Randolf is completely outclassed."

"What do you mean, Severus?" Lupin asked.

"Well, just look at the two of them," Snape replied. "It would be like pairing a stray mutt and a pedigreed blue-blooded show dog."

"You mean, as impossible as a penniless werewolf and a pureblood Lord becoming lovers?" Lupin asked sweetly, and Snape snorted, half in amusement, and half in annoyance.

"Point taken," Snape conceded grudgingly. Then, as he watched Takeshi introduce Tsubasa to the werewolves, he added thoughtfully, "Hmm...perhaps it isn't such an impossibility, after all. Professor Tsubasa seems to be taking an interest in our stray werewolf."

"Really?" Lupin asked, hopefully but doubtfully. From his perspective, Tsubasa's attention seemed to be completely focused on the people that Takeshi was introducing him to. He wasn't even looking in Ash's direction.

"I was a spy, Lupin," Snape said in a superior tone of voice. "I can tell when someone is trying to watch someone else without being obvious about it. He's being very subtle, but if you look closely, you can see that he's watching Randolf out of the corner of his eye."

"I'll take your word for it, Sev," Lupin said, because to his eyes, Tsubasa still seemed completely unaware of Ash's presence. But perhaps that was suspicious in itself, since everyone else in the room could not help but notice the way that Ash was staring at Tsubasa. Aric was grinning smugly; Narcissa and Lukas looked amused; and the other werewolves were elbowing each other in the side and snickering quietly as they glanced at Ash.

"And this gentleman with his jaw hanging open is my dear friend Ash," Takeshi said, completing his introductions, having saved the dazed-looking werewolf for last. Ash finally snapped out of his trance, blushing and stammering out an introduction, but he recovered his wits quickly enough to impress Tsubasa slightly by greeting him in Japanese.

Snape noticed Lupin staring at the pair with an eager and speculative look in his eyes, and said dryly, "Mind your own business, Lupin."

"Why, whatever do you mean, Severus?" Lupin asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me, Lupin," Snape retorted. "And don't try to play matchmaker for those two, either. They're both adults, and they're perfectly capable of conducting their affairs--no pun intended--without your help." He glared at Lupin the way he would an unruly student, and said sternly, "No meddling!"

"Yes, Severus," Lupin said in a placating but distracted tone, as his attention was still focused on Ash and Tsubasa. Snape sighed in resignation; he supposed that trying to keep a Gryffindor out of mischief was a futile effort.

Lupin wasn't the only meddler, it seemed. Aric not-so-subtly saw to it that Tsubasa was seated next to Ash at dinner, and he grinned smugly throughout the entire meal. Tsubasa did not precisely flirt with Ash; he made polite small talk with the werewolf, but didn't appear to pay any more attention to him than he did the other dinner guests. However, he did continue to discreetly watch his admirer out of the corner of his eye, although he was so subtle about it that no one but Snape seemed to notice. Ash, on the other hand, was all too obvious, staring at his dinner companion with such adoration that he looked more like a wide-eyed puppy dog than a werewolf, despite the scar that usually gave him a rather sinister appearance.

The budding romance appeared to be getting off to a good start, with Ash extracting a promise of fencing lessons from Tsubasa. It was an obvious ploy, but Tsubasa played along with it willingly enough, so it seemed that he wasn't adverse to the werewolf's attentions.

When dinner was over, they returned to Snape Manor, but Lupin was feeling a little restless, so they walked in the garden together instead of heading straight to bed. 

"Things seem to be going well between them," Lupin said in a conversational tone.

"I told you, don't meddle, Lupin," Snape said.

"I'm not," Lupin protested, a little too innocently. "I was just making an observation. Although Tsubasa is very reserved; it's hard to tell what he's thinking." He gave Snape a shrewd look. "I don't suppose that you picked up any...impressions...from him, did you, Sev?"

"I'm sure you're aware that it's considered unethical to use Legilimency on someone without their consent, Lupin," Snape replied coolly.

Lupin grinned. "And I'm also aware that the Slytherin notion of 'ethics' is somewhat flexible. Come on, Sev, 'fess up."

Snape sighed and gave in. If he hadn't loved Lupin so much, he would have been disturbed by how well Lupin could read him. Then again, most people expected the worst of a former Death Eater, so they might well have suspected Snape of using his powers to spy on people's thoughts, except that most of them weren't aware that he was a Legilimens. Lupin always seemed to know when Snape was up to something sneaky, but he never made Snape feel as if he was suspecting "the worst" of him, treating all Snape's flaws as if they were endearing traits. 

Snape smiled at his lover, the expression on his face suddenly changing from annoyance to affection. "Well, without actively casting a spell and trying to enter someone's mind, I can only pick up vague impressions, not so much thoughts as emotions. Randolf's thoughts were apparent to everyone present, of course, no Legilimency required. In fact, they were so overwhelming that they nearly drowned out everything else." He shook his head and sighed, "Werewolves don't go into heat, do they?"

"It's female canines that go into heat, not males," Lupin laughed. "But no, werewolves don't go into heat, Severus."

"I don't know about that," Snape said dryly. "You seem to be in a perpetual state of heat." Lupin laughed again and nuzzled Snape's neck affectionately. "Anyway, despite Randolf's werewolf hormones raging out of control, I did pick up a definite sense of interest from Tsubasa. More of a sense of curiosity and attraction than love at first sight--or lust at first sight, as the case may be, but he's definitely interested. I suspect that Randolf will have to work at courting him, though."

"We werewolves can be very stubborn and determined when it comes to getting something we want," Lupin said, baring his teeth in a feral grin. "As you should know from experience."

That grin sent a little thrill of excitement running up and down Snape's spine, but he kept up a pose of indifference. Lupin knew better, of course, but it was part of the little game that they liked to play, each teasing and provoking the other. "Should I be worried that you're showing so much interest in another werewolf's lovelife, Lupin?" Snape asked, pretending to be offended. "Do I have a rival for your affections?"

"Never, Severus," Lupin said in a low growl, moving closer to his lover, not quite touching him but close enough for Snape to feel the warmth of Lupin's breath on his face. "It is only that I am so deliriously happy with you that I want everyone else to find happiness with their own loves."

Snape suddenly noticed how beautiful Lupin looked, with the moon casting a pale glow over him, causing the silver highlights in his hair to shine. "You look beautiful in the moonlight, Remus," he whispered, reaching up to run his hand through Lupin's hair, letting the golden-brown and silver strands slide through his fingers.

Lupin smiled at him tenderly. "I always feared and hated the moon before. Whenever I saw a boggart, it used to turn into a full moon. But now, because of you, I no longer need to fear the moon." He reached up and grasped Snape's hand, pulling it down from his hair to his lips, and gently kissing it. "Not just because the Wolfsbane Potion keeps me safe, but because you love the wolf in me. I love you so much, Severus." He leaned forward and finally allowed their lips to meet in a long, lingering kiss.

"Shall we continue this indoors?" Snape asked in a ragged voice when they came up for air.

Lupin laid his head on Snape's shoulder, resting comfortably in his lover's embrace. "In a minute, Severus. I'd like to stay out and enjoy the moonlight just a little longer."

So Snape wrapped his arms a little more tightly around Lupin, and they stood like that in the garden for a long time, neither of them moving. Entwined around each other, in the shadows of the garden, they might almost have looked like one person instead of two to someone observing from a distance, except for Lupin's hair, shining gold-and-silver in the moonlight against Snape's raven-black locks.


End file.
